We'll Look Back and Laugh at Ourselves
by JuHuaTai
Summary: Between his new boyfriend and his workaholic boss, Marco felt like he was surrounded by family issues of the father and son dispute variety. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Or maybe he should've listened to the office gossip more. Maybe then he'd figure it out sooner.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: Suggestive languages, suggestive themes, Rated M just in case. English is my third language, unbeta-ed.

Hope you'd enjoy!

It all started 3 weeks ago, when all of the sudden, the balance of his normal life was interrupted by the company's president praising him for an excellent presentation, and in addition to giving him a large bonus, gave him a 2 weeks worth of day off. He learned later from his adopted father, the company's co-president, that his presentation had managed to land them a major project, and that he and his partner was in agreement that a promotion is awaiting upon his return.

During the first week of his day off, he happened upon a raffle booth after a night of drinking, and Rakuyo talked him into trying it out. Marco had expected to win a consolation prize at best - 3 pack of instant noodle for 10$ sounds pretty good when you're tipsy - but the prize that rolled out of the raffle machine was none other than the grand prize itself; a week long cruise with paid expenses for one.

2 good things happening in less than a week seems like a stroke of luck, but the third happened in less than 3 days, and by then he's already a believer to whatever deity who decided to give him all of these rewards.

He was never quite one to mingle, but during the first 5 minutes of his arrival to the cruise ship, Marco made a new friend in a lovely lady whose sunhat nearly flew away during a particularly harsh wind. She introduced herself as Rouge, hardly looking like she's a couple of years older than him, and she was supposed to be on the ship with her husband but sadly, he was stuck with work after some breakthrough. Instead she took her son with her, planning to instead spend the next week doing a mother and son bonding time and Marco was welcomed to join them.

As usual, when it comes to public gathering, his first instinct was to politely decline. Yet Rouge's pleasant smile must've affected his senses because he found himself agreeing to meet that night during dinner time.

Thatch's very first message to him when he told his best friend of this development was to remind him in bold letters that with workaholic husband involved, he should be cautious of any signs of infidelity, something that Marco quickly dismissed. Even if he only knew her for an hour top, Rouge seems like a nice woman who won't do such a thing, and even if she was, he had enough sensibility to reject any advances.

And he was right on both account: Rouge was just a friendly woman whose interaction with him hardly stirred towards anything intimate in nature, and he honestly enjoyed spending time with her to consider her as anything else than a newfound friend. Their conversation was nice and easy, and he could tell that she loved her family too much to consider an affair.

So yes, Marco had all of his guards down, which is a very big mistake.

He knows he had the moral to reject a woman's offer for an affair, but he didn't know whether or not his morals will be able to withstand said woman's drop dead gorgeous son.

Ace Portgas - his mother sighed when he introduced himself as such, but Marco was too distracted by the open collar shirt - was 21 years old, a college sophomore majoring in science and a volunteer fireman, and he had a permanent scowl on his face, particularly whenever Marco and his mother talked.

As the night continues, Marco learned that he is an incredibly big eater ("He got it from his father," Rouge would quip, as Marco watched the boy down another plate full of seafood assortment), the scowl disappear whenever Rouge mentions two people called 'Sabo and 'Luffy', and when he snickered at Marco's accidental joke, the sound send butterflies straight to his stomach and worse, his groin.

He finally loose the attitude at the end of the night, claiming that ever since they got on the ship, plenty of men started hitting on his mother and he was afraid that Marco is another one of those men, "You're not so bad," he said with a lopsided smile, as Rouge left to use the bathroom, "Kind of awkward, but nothing mom can't handle if it turns out i'm wrong,"

He should probably take offense to that, but Marco only chuckled, downing another flute of champagne, "Your mother is a very beautiful lady, but i must pass. She is married, for one,"

"And?"

From beyond his glass, Marco watched Ace's curious stare, how his cheek was already flushed despite only drinking some of his mother's leftover wine. There's a twinkle there that, accompanied by the dim lighting of the dining area, made him look incredibly sexy.

Marco shook his head of the thought, "And i don't usually look for the company of women,"

Ace's eyes widened a fraction, and it might be the numerous alcohol from that night talking, but Marco swore he saw Ace licking his lips. Rouge came back before her son could get another word in, but when they went their separate ways for the night, Marco knew he didn't mistook the look of smoulder Ace threw to his direction before he followed his mother to their wing.

That night, Marco fends off Thatch's prodding with 'the hot mom', and took 2 cold showers before he can finally go to sleep.

He met the mother-son duo again the next morning during breakfast, and afterwards, he was invited to come along to the top deck, where the pool was located. Dressed in only a light blue sun dress, Rouge told them that she is satisfied with simply tanning on the side while trying the assortment of cocktail provided by the cruise, and had no intention to actually swim. The same could not be said about her son.

No, her son pulled down his shorts as soon as she is away, and Marco's heart almost stopped when he spotted the black and orange micro bikini barely encasing Ace's tanned hips and rear, the fabric stretching over a bouncy - confirmed when he shimmied out of his shorts - ass and the modest sized pack on the front. As the raven haired man made his way to the pool, he threw none-too-subtle glances to Marco's direction, and dove into the water.

He resurfaced not moments later, water seemingly glistening over his skin, and at that point, Marco knew he had two option: To quickly dive into water and hope that the cold will wither his slowly growing arousal, or to simply sit under a shade and hide under a towel for the rest of the afternoon.

His choice was made for him when Ace climbed out of the pool, water trickling down as he made his way towards a petrified Marco and more or less drag him along to the water. The water was indeed cold and he could feel himself wilt away, at least until Ace decided it's a good idea to brush against him every so often as they swim and suddenly the water wasn't cold enough.

The torturous swimming session ended that noon, when Rouge insisted they should go and watch the pre-dinner show. She didn't seem perturbed by her son's swimming attire, and honestly, watching Ace being fussed over by his towel-holding mother to dry his hair right kind of put his overwhelming allure down a peg, which is exactly what Marco needed.

Of course, he ended up thinking that Ace is 'sexy _and_ adorable', and Marco wasn't so sure that it was a good thing after all.

Dinner show involves drinks and a buffet, something that Ace took full advantage of and soon had him under the watch of every waiter in the room. Halfway through, Rouge excused herself to go back to her room, saying she had had too much to drink and was ready to call it quits. That left Marco alone with Ace, who, as soon as his mother was out of sight, took the seat she vacated, right next to Marco, downing the rest of her drink.

Things that happened afterward was a given; Marco learned that night that Ace tasted sweet even without the aftertaste of Peach Bellini and that one thing hotter than a swimsuit that's basically a thong, is wearing nothing at all underneath a pair of tight jeans.

So far, Marco hadn't really counted his encounter with Rouge and Ace as one of his 'lucky strike', even if they are nice people. He began to change his mind, however, when he woke up the next morning with an extra weight on his arm and a shy pair of eyes peeking from underneath the sheets, meekly wishing him a good morning. It was such a contrary from yesterday's wild activity, but Marco couldn't find it in himself to actually mind.

Rouge didn't question her son's whereabout last night, but she spent the rest of the week smiling more to Marco and spending most of their conversation mentioning something about Ace, whether it was his preference or some personal anecdote. As for Ace himself, he spent that night back with his mother, something that disappoints Marco deep down, until there's a knock on his door well over midnight.

The week went too fast for his taste, and it was with great sadness that Marco welcomed the last day of the cruise. It didn't quite last long, when he found out that Rouge and Ace live in the same city as his, and before they parted, he managed to get Ace's number along with the promise for a date. He left the harbour in high spirits and a skip in his steps.

He came back with a new title as his section's manager, with full congratulations from his co-worker and his bosses, and the first date with Ace went incredibly well that he managed to convince the younger man into a steady relationship.

It was like living a dream for Marco. In 3 weeks, he managed to get a raise, a promotion, and a new, cute and sexy boyfriend.

Nothing could bring him down from this high.

Nothing.

* * *

"Careful, Roger's on a warpath this morning,"

That was the first greeting Marco received upon arriving to his floor, upon seeing Thatch, Kingdew and Jiru huddling close to the water cooler. He turned to Thatch, who gave him the warning and asked, "Why? Is something wrong with the new project?"

The pompadoured man shook his head, "It has nothing to do with work, he's been gloomy since last week, something about missing a vacation with his wife because of this new project. It went explosive this morning, though. I heard from Izou that he got into a fight with his son this morning, something about him secretly having a boyfriend,"

Marco winced. Roger Gol - the company's co-director alongside Marco's adopted father, Edward - was extremely protective or his family, especially his infamously rebellious son. The last time said son had a boyfriend, work place turns to hell for the entire week. According to Izou, the resident gossip, Roger insisted for his son to broke up with his then boyfriend, and the son had not been too pleased about it. In the end, they supposedly broke up because of some personal problem, but some people were still convinced that Roger had something to do with it.

He remembered then being a full story, breakdown and theories on how the breakup happened, which was ridiculous considering no one in the office has actually met Roger's family.

"Heard its pretty serious this time," Kingdew piped up, leaning against the wall, "Haruta followed the son on twitter. He's been waxing poetry about his new man for the last couple of days,"

"Damn, did the kid get lucky or something?"

"Roger will have the poor guy's head if he dare to show his son some good time," Thatch chuckled, before turning his lecherous gaze at Marco, "Speaking of good time, how's your date on the weekend?"

Jiru widened his eyes, "No way, Marco?"

"Yup! Our manager here finally lands himself a catch and its been, what, a week?"

"Two. We met on the cruise and, well, let's just say i have legitimate reasons to count it from the day we first met," Even if he had heard the story, Thatch slapped his back repeatedly while chuckling, "And the date went great. Took him to see his favorite movie after dinner, went to his favorite club and afterward, we went back to his place since his roommates were both away,"

Though Sabo, Ace's roommate was less than amused to see clothes strewn all over the floor the next morning, and Law, the other roommate and some family member of sorts, came home fully equipped with enough innuendo to make Ace blush as bright as his underwear from the night before. Ace's last text from last night indicate he's going to get his comeuppance once Law came back with his 'brick shithouse of a redhead boyfriend'.

"Nice,"

"Way to go,"

"You gonna introduce him to use sometime soon?"

Marco considered this. His and Ace's relationship was still pretty new, hence why beyond Ace's roommates and mother, they hadn't really introduce each other to other friends and family. He did contemplate bringing Ace back home to at least introduce him to Pops, but his father left a few days ago for a business trip abroad and he'll be back in about a month. Hopefully by then, their relationship have developed enough.

The day went on as usual, minus Roger's usual sunny disposition. Today, the man spent the rest of the day sulking and scowling, and according to Izou, spent his lunch calling his wife to ask whether or not he should call his son, "I guess his fight with his son must've really bothered him," the effeminate man told the rest of the staff during lunch break, "From what i gathered, the wife approved of the boyfriend, but Roger was still adamant,"

"The son's still mad at him though," Haruta told them, browsing through his phone, "He ranted on twitter yesterday about his dad babying him or something. I don't blame him; the guy's at least 20 and the only freedom Roger gave him was to move out and that's only because his cousin and childhood friend will be living with him,"

Marco looked up from his text with Ace - he's in class, secretly sending him cute selfies - and cocked his brow, "Kind of stalkerish of you to know that much about some guy you never met, isn't it?"

"It's the digital age, old man. Keep up,"

He left when Haruta started showing the twitter account to some curious people, because Ace's class finished and his texts became a little bit risque. If Marco came back to his office looking a little ruffled and flushed, no one mentioned anything.

* * *

His and Ace's relationship entered it's first month mark when Ace suddenly arrived in his apartment one night, carrying a bag full of snacks and a sour expression.

"I kind of fought with mom about my dad and my so called friends and roomies are not helping. Can i stay?"

Aside as a tagalong mention whenever Rouge was mentioned, Ace never spoke of his father nor did he ever say anything about their obviously tense relationship. Marco's cluelessness about his boyfriend's other parents ended that night, when he spent the next few hours ranting about what a workaholic his father is and how unfair it is that he kept being the bad guy whenever he called out his old man in front of his mom.

"It wasn't always that bad but since a few years ago, he barely came home. He already missed birthdays and holidays," the raven haired male stopped briefly to aggressively shovel more spicy chips to his mouth, "He even missed his anniversary with mom this year, the bastard,"

Marco wasn't entirely clueless, and he began to piece together that the cruise wasn't meant to be some miscellaneous holiday for Rouge and her husband.

"That's… a bit too much,"

"A bit? He promised her this cruise for months! Mom always loves sailing, and she's been looking forwards for this ever since he sprang the surprise. Then when he told us he couldn't get out because of some new big project at work, mom scolded _me_ for being mad at _him_!" Chucking the now empty wrapper, Marco watched as Ace tore into yet another bag of chips, this time boasting the rich flavour of cheddar and sour cream, "I don't know why she puts up with him,"

He tried to remember Rouge from the last time he saw her in that cruise, how she spent the week mostly fussing about her son and, in Ace's absence, sometimes lamented about how she wished her husband could enjoy this trip, "Maybe she just loves him. And maybe your dad makes it up to her after,"

Ace scoffed at his suggestion, "He didn't come home once while i stayed with mom," he said in between chews, then suddenly turned to Marco with a glare, "And i don't care if she loves him. If it was me, i won't let someone get away with things that easily, no matter how much i love them. In fact, the more i love them, the more i expected them not to pull that kind of shit,"

'I'll make sure to be extra responsible around you then' was what Marco initially wanted to reply with, but he held his tongue. Time and place, time and place.

Ace sighed, his chewing slowing down significantly, "Is his work more important than his family? Does he not care that he keeps on disappointing mom like that? Cause i know mom doesn't say it out loud, but…she missed him, you know? "

Marco nodded, fully understanding. He also knew that the little speech means Rouge wasn't the only one who missed the estranged patriarch of the family.

Instead, he lets Ace leaned against his shoulder, and kept his silence until the younger man continued, "And you know the worst thing about that? He's hardly around, i barely saw him yet he thinks he has a say about my life. Ace, i don't want you to do this, Ace, i don't like that, Ace, i'm your father, you have to listen to me. God, so what?" the younger spat out, "So what if he's my dad, maybe he can try to be a bit more involved with my life and actually made an effort to _be_ a dad instead of just the guy who pays for my college before he can tell me what i can or can't do,"

It was something he's been holding back for a long time, Marco realized. Years of his father's absence, and perhaps from watching Rouge having her promise broken left and right accumulated, and something made him break now. Carefully, he asked, "What did your father want?"

The younger man was quiet, "He wanted me to…," he trailed off, but Marco caught the subtle eye flicking to his direction. Oh, "It doesn't matter. It's not like i'm going to do it. He's stupid, he always is,"

They didn't talk anymore after that, letting the lull of each other's presence - and Ace's endless snacks - distract them from the passing time. Ace fell asleep with a half empty bag of chips tethering on his lap, and his head cushioned by Marco's shoulder, a frown marring his otherwise peaceful expression. Marco carried him to his bedroom, and it didn't take long for him to fell asleep as soon as he wrapped his arms around Ace.

The next morning he waited for Ace to wake up and leave for class before leaving to work himself, reassuring the younger than no, he's not late, and yes, Ace is welcome to come to his place anytime he wanted. Minutes after he said that, Marco placed down a reminder on his phone to search for his spare apartment key and hoped that 1 month is not too soon for that.

He arrived nearly an hour late to work, but his sudden tardiness was too surprising to everyone else that he got away scot free.

* * *

The cloud that has been hanging over Roger's head for the last few weeks turned into a storm, and according to Izou's highly dependable gossip network, it may just be the beginning.

"He overheard from his wife's call with his son that the boyfriend gave him the key to his place," he shared to their division during lunch, sitting amidst a circle of gossipmongers, "And not only that, he also finds out some other things any parents would be concerned about when it comes to their darling children,"

"What? What happened?" Jozu, the stoic manager from the division 2 floor below practically demanded from the back of the crowd, his brows furrowed in concentration as if he was doing a particularly tricky report and not waiting for the story of their director's son's illicit affair.

For a dramatic flair, Izou paused, giving every single person in the room a sly glance. In the very back of the room, Marco rolled his eyes at his antics, while replying to Ace's frantic text about having forgotten his textbook in Marco's apartment the day before. He offered to drive back home and deliver it to Ace's campus, but the younger declined and decided to brace himself to whatever punishment his teacher will give out.

"Okay, so, you know how we've been all speculating just how bad this new boyfriend could be?" He paused, and slowly, every single one of his avid listener nodded, "Well, it's pretty bad. He's a decade older than the son,"

In Marco's opinion, Haruta's scandalous gasp and Bay's tongue clicking were absolutely unnecessary. They all know that the son is of legal age, and is free to make his decision, so it's not like he's being coerced into it. And besides, 10 years difference isn't that bad.

Rolling his eyes one last time, Marco exited the room as soon as the whispers started. He convinced himself it was because he still had some work to do for Pops' extended stay abroad and not because he's afraid he might start taking their comments to heart. He'll admit, he agreed with some of them, like the difficulty to relate and gap in maturity, but it's nothing two people can't work out on if they truly care for each other.

After all, his relationship with Ace is perfectly fine, despite the fact that he's 33 years old to Ace's 21.

* * *

Pops came back a week after, and Marco decided to confess about actually having a love life first before he could start introducing them together.

Edward's reaction had been to open one of his good sake - completely ignoring his doctor's orders - and demanded that Marco tell him absolutely everything, starting from how they met and every single development in the relationship. For such a large, imposing man, one would never guess that Edward Newgate loves a good romantic story as much as an average teenage girl.

So Marco did, starting it off with the cruise trip and meeting Rouge, skimping the details of his late night run-ins with Ace. His tongue became looser the more he drank, and his inhibition and awareness was so low by the time he drank the last drop from the bottle that Marco never noticed how Edward had gone completely silent in the middle of his story. He looked up from his glass to see his adopted father looking down at him with wide eyes, and with his flushed cheeks, he looks absolutely ridiculous that Marco started snickering.

"Pops, whats wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Edward blinked, once, twice, and started speaking slowly, "This lady you met, you said that her name is Rouge?"

"Yeah,"

"And her son's name is Ace Portgas, which means her name is Rouge Portgas, right?"

To be honest, Marco never quite asked about that, though its not like there's any other reason to believe otherwise. He shrugged, trying to keep himself from swaying off the chair from the motion, "I guess?"

"Right," was all Edward say, then suddenly he began chuckling, the low sound that slowly gained momentum before becoming a full blown guffaw.

Marco could only stare at his father through hazy, half lidded eyes.

The giant man's laughter finally died down to honest-to-god giggles, and he reached over to his cupboard again to pull out a bottle of amber coloured liquor, already half drunk. Marco knew this was about the time he intervened, as he is a responsible son, but he was already drunk and all thoughts of responsibilities flew out of the window once his cup was refilled.

This new drink immediately burned his throat upon impact and the aftertaste was something Marco wasn't sure he'd experience again in life. It was incredible, "This is my most favorite drink, a collector's item i had with me since i first made a name for myself as business man decades ago. I only take it out for most special occasion, like the beginning of my partnership with Roger, when i buy my own house," he smiled gently, gesturing to Marco, "And when i adopted you and each one of your brothers,"

Somehow, that revelation made the liquid currently swirling in his cup incredibly precious, and Marco carefully only took a sip at a time as he considered this, "Didn't know that my love life is that special of an occasion,"

Edward laughed, his voice booming and full of joy, "Oh, it is, son. Trust me, it is," he said as he poured some of the liquor to his own cup, "By the way, i heard Roger's been terrorising the company because of some personal problem. Why don't you tell me something about my old friend's antics so i can tease him the next time i see him?"

* * *

During the second month of their relationship, they finally reached their first relationship problem; Ace's finals started, which means that there will be no dates or 'sleepovers' until it was over.

It sounded quite simple at first, and Marco had even encourage Ace to put his education first, until he came back home for 1 week straight without a constant second presence in his house. They still call and texted each other, but as the final weeks approach, the number of communication took a nose dive. Marco would sometimes found himself waiting for a reply the entire night, only to receive it the next morning because Ace fell asleep while studying.

When finals week arrived, Ace completely disappeared from his phone. Once or twice Marco would send a text reminding him to eat and sleep, and if he check hours later, those texts will be marked as read but otherwise bore no reply. He didn't mind, he wasn't so old he didn't remember what those college days were like, so he filled his evenings by watching TV or doing some overtime work.

But still, it was lonely, which was odd because before Ace came to his life, it was pretty much how Marco spent his off time from work.

That went on for a couple of days, prompting some remarks from his co-worker about how he's starting to rival Roger with his gloominess, and Thatch even dared to suggest the idea that it was caused by a recent heartbreak. Marco told him off, but he didn't tell the real reason for his change in behaviour. It's not that he's ashamed of his relationship with Ace - on the contrary even - but ever since that day when Izou revealed that Roger's son was dating someone much older than him, he was rather wary of giving any hint that he himself is in the same boat, albeit in reverse.

So it was with great surprise when, during the last workday for the week, he came home to find his bedroom light switched on, and entered to find Ace waiting for him on his bed, wearing only one of Marco's favorite dress shirt and an inviting look. Whatever fatigue that has accumulated disappeared in a flash, and even after a long day of work, Marco found himself having enough energy for 3, a quick snack break, and another 2 and a half round.

They spent the weekend barely leaving the bed - or the couch, or the bathroom, and on one memorable time, the kitchen - surviving on take outs or whatever food Marco had in his mostly barren fridge. By the end of it, his legs and hips had developed a cramp, and Ace was complaining about soreness and stinging bite marks, but at least they are both satisfied.

When the adrenaline and libido finally ran out, however, they started assessing their situation; like Marco's ruined kitchen chair, or the need for new sheets, or the fact that Ace apparently promised his mother to spend his class break tomorrow with her on some family villa on the countryside.

"It'll only be for a couple of days though. Class won't start until a month from now so we can spend time in between," Ace's body was still glistening with sweat and his thundering heartbeat matched Marco's own. His voice was slightly muffled as he hid his face against Marco's heaving chest, "Though, mom said i can invite you to come along with us. She said she missed you,"

A couple of days in some countryside villa, enjoying the fresh air without the hustle and bustle of the city with a charming lady like Rouge and his beloved boyfriend. Just the thought of it alone relaxes him. And he did miss Rouge as well,

"I'll see if i can take some day off,"

* * *

Leaving to work that morning was the hardest thing to do for Marco, due to the persistent cramp on his forelegs - sex against walls: sexy in theory but an absolute pain in his age - and the fact that he had to leave Ace all alone in bed, sleeping, naked and bundled in his sheets. But he managed somehow, because he's a man on a mission.

He was also a man who clearly looked like he just had the greatest night of his life, because as soon as he entered the office, Thatch, ever present near the water cooler, took one look at him and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not a word," Marco cuts him off before he could say anything, unable to fight back a smile when Thatch wagged his brows even faster, "Told you it wasn't a heartbreak,"

"Yeah, but by the look of you, i bet something _did_ break,"

Maybe it was because of his incredibly good mood, because nothing else could explain why Marco suddenly got the incentive to smirk and replied, "Probably his ass,"

The look on Thatch's face was a mixture of several conflicting emotions, and Marco was so proud of himself for coming up with that reply that he completely missed the person that has been standing behind the pompadoured man the entire time, trying to get some water from the very same water cooler behind Thatch. He finally noticed the man when a sound of coughing and spurting sounded, making them both jump in surprise.

"Ho— cough! Holy shit!" Roger exclaimed, the top of his shirt soaked with the same water he sprayed out. He started cackling, looking at Marco in disbelief, "Marco, holy shit!"

And to think the day started off real well.

Thankfully, Roger waved off his apologies ("We're in an office, son, not a catholic school,"), and after enduring some teasing from Thatch, Marco quickly made his way to his office to start a normal working day.

At least, he tried to. As soon as he sat down, the cramp on his leg acted up, and during a quick trip to the bathroom, he finally caught the sight of his own neck, littered with copious amount of very deep and poorly hidden hickeys. That explains why Thatch caught on real quickly. Or why everyone kept staring and snickering whenever he pass by.

Lunch was a little more bearable, if only because it started out with Ace sending him two pictures, the first one of his spread thighs, and the second one of his torso, both fully decorated with bite marks and bruising handprints. _Look at what you did to me!_ the text said, _I look like i've been eaten alive! How am i going to go home looking like this?!_

Marco chuckled, and took a quick look around the still empty break room. Once he was sure no one is around, he quickly took a picture of his neck, pulling on his collar.

 _I've been walking around the office the entire morning with this. Consider us even._

As he waited for Ace to reply, Marco made the mistake of scrolling back to the pictures of Ace's body, because he's a weak, weak man who just received an inflation for his ego and thus is unaware that anyone at all could walk into the room and walk past him. Which is exactly what Roger, out of everyone in the building did.

"I know this is break time," he said as a way to reveal his presence, and Marco would admit he jumped at least a feet off the ground, "But please refrain from sexting while you're in the office's break room, people eat here,"

"No! No,no,no! This wasn't, i wasn't—"

Roger began cackling, shaking his head in amidst of Marco's frantic denial, "Young love," he mused in between laughter, "Don't worry about it, i was young once, i'm a married man, i know how it works. Why," he looped an arm around Marco's shoulder, and it took all of the blonde's self-restraint not to hightail it out of there, "I remember when i just married my wife, we're supposed to be sailing and enjoying the freedom of the sea. Of course, the only thing that happened was that we barely left our room,"

Marco almost blurted out 'yeah, same' until he decided that oversharing about how he met his boyfriend with the boss that just caught him getting naked pics are probably not the best thing to do.

His hesitation and near faux pas was missed, as the moustached man continued, "Of course, i think that's how my son was conceived. No wonder he's such a free spirit," he paused, then sighed with the intensity of a man who was carrying the world's weight with him, "Too free, even,"

In Marco's hand, his phone vibrated, probably Ace's reply. The desire to quickly read it was unbearable, but as Roger sat down, face gloomy, Marco sent a silent apology to Ace and asked, "What happened?"

Roger looked up at him and scoffed, "Ah, don't lie, you know what's going on. Everyone in the office knows already about what's going on with my son," he sighed, running a hand through thick black hair, "You all think i'm being stupid, aren't you?"

Kinda.

"Not really," Marco replied instead, "I mean, i guess it's a father's duty to be protective of their children, right? I know Pops still worries about most of us, even if we're adults,"

"Yeah, that's Edward, big heart to match that big body of his," his boss smiled slightly, "But with me and my son, it's a little bit different. He's young, you know? And he tries to act differently, but he's still fragile, naive, too headstrong and spoiled. How am i not supposed to worry?" Roger sighed, running his hand through his hair again, "In our last fight, he told me that i'm barely even his dad because i'm never home. What is he even talking about? Everything i did, this entire company, my working hours, that's all so that him and his mother can have a good life!"

All of this talk about father and son disagreement briefly reminded of Ace's appearance in his apartment a few weeks back, and his subsequent rant about his own father. Marco wondered if this is just a common thing amongst fathers in general, or he was stuck with two fathers and sons with the similar issues, "Yeah, but there's more to being a dad than just being the guy who pays things,"

Roger paused, and Marco nearly bit his tongue. Shit, what did he say that for?

He wanted to retract his words, but Roger was looking at him with the face of a person seeking for a divine answer, and Marco found himself trapped, "I mean, it's great that you're working hard for your family, but how are you supposed to be a parent if you're always in your office? Maybe that's what your son meant; if all you did to raise him was just working so he'd have money instead of actually being involved in his life, then you're just the guy who pays the bills, not his dad,"

Now Marco really wanted to bite his tongue off. That last part was Ace's word about his father, what is he doing trying to relate him to Roger's family problem?

Actually, why is Roger even sharing his family problem in the first place? Ace he could understand, he's his boyfriend and Marco would happily listen to him, but Roger is not only his boss, he had just caught him with a naked pic of his boyfriend, so why did their conversation turn here—

"That's… huh," the sound of his boss' mutters cuts through Marco's train of thought. He caught a small smile on the older man's face, as he shook his head, "You know, it's funny, but i think Edward said something similar to me once. Something about putting my family first. My wife often asked me to come home for the day and bring work if i must, but she stopped doing that a while ago. My son, he… he never said anything, so i always assumed…,"

Silence. Marco's phone vibrates again, twice. He held it in his hand.

Then, the raven haired man spoke, "Actually, my wife told me that since it's the holidays, she's going to take our son to go to out of the city and spend some time together. I told her i'll be busy, but imagine if i…," the slowly rising smile on Roger's face fell, "But this is a bad time. With the preparation for the new project still going, i can't leave anytime soon," he looked conflicted, biting his lower lips, "Well, there's always afterwards…,"

Suddenly Marco knew what Roger wanted to do, and considering that the man seems to have reached an epiphany, maybe he should leave it at that. He's not responsible for this anymore, it's not his problem, in fact, he had his own problem—

Roger ran his hand down his face, sighing wearily, "God, i am a failure of a father, aren't i?'

The blonde sighed, and once again sent a silent apology to both Ace and Rouge, "Just go, Roger," he said finally, crossing his arm to hide the once again vibrating phone, "Spend time with your wife and son, and prove to him you can be a better dad. I'll cover for you,"

"Marco, i can't possibly—"

"I won this company that project, i know what to do. If there's anything i might need help with, i can always call Pops and asked him. You're not the only boss around in this company, you know," he smiled reassuringly, "In fact, take the day off from now. With the way you've been working for the last couple of weeks, there's probably not much else to do anyway,"

There's a giant smile on Roger's face, even as he spoke, "I'm still your employer, brat, don't push your elder around,"

"Not since a few seconds ago you're not," Marco retorted, "Not for a couple of days at least, so come on, get. Spent time with your family, Roger, take a break, you look like shit,"

Maybe that was pushing it, but Roger did laugh out loud, "Yes, yes, i'll be on my way. I'll send a mass email telling everyone that you'll be in charge while i'm gone," he made his way out of the break room, before stopping and turning back. Marco was rather caught off guard by the sincere smile he gave, "Thank you, Marco. You're a good kid," he said, and left.

Marco stood in the middle of the break room, one hand loosely holding his phone and a mixed feeling.

When he opened his phone later in the solitary of his office, he found a couple of text and images from Ace, showing him and his mother shopping and packing for their holiday. His last text asked him if he will be joining them.

With heavy heart, Marco replied with his sincere regret, but when he sees Roger's office finally empty after being constantly occupied well beyond closing time, he found it hard to feel bad for long.

* * *

First day of being the acting president was as tough as he thought it would be, and Marco had a feeling it would get harder from there on out.

Roger's workload was insane, and added with his own, Marco found himself nearly tearing his hair out - or what's left of it on his minimalist haircut. Of course, he persevere with the help of his co-workers, and he made it to the end of the day, wanting nothing more than to pass out.

Which is not how his night after work went, because as soon as he arrived home, he noticed that he had at least 10 missed calls and all of them were from Ace.

He feared the worst, probably something happening on the way - because why else would he call that many times - but Ace did answered, albeit strangely silent and subdued, "Hello?"

"Ace, i'm so sorry, work was swamped today and my boss didn't come in," he said, skipping the fact that that was partially his fault, "What's wrong, what happened? Are you okay? Is your mom okay?"

Probably hearing how flustered he was, Ace quickly reassured him, "No, no, nothing's wrong. We got to the villa just fine, she's been having fun the whole morning swimming and talking to the gardener," he paused, and Marco can hear him take a deep breath, "It's just that… something did happen, and i don't… i just need to talk to someone about it,"

The tightness in his chest quickly disappears and Marco plopped himself down on his sofa, loosening his tie, "What happened?"

Again, Ace fell quiet. He heard rustling from behind the younger man, and guessed that he's probably in a bed of sorts, "My dad came," he said finally, voice low enough to be a murmur, "Mom said he was swamped with work so he won't be coming, but yesterday, he suddenly came home and said he's coming along. Mom was ecstatic, and they're having fun the whole day, and…,"

Marco waited, but it's clear that Ace wouldn't be saying anything anytime soon without prompting, "Is that a bad thing?"

"Well, no," the younger muttered, "I mean, mom's really happy, and it's been a long time since there's any time for the three of us to spend time together," he paused again, his tone conflicted and unsure. Marco threw his tie away, and started unbuttoning his shirt, "But… i don't know, i wasn't expecting much, but then he was suddenly there, and Mom looked happier than she had been for a while, and i'm… i just…,"

He fell silent again, and Marco's mind returned to the conversation he had with Roger yesterday, and how happy he looked when he left. He imagined that Ace's father was probably having the same dilemma as Roger when it comes to family, of having to be away so often from his family. Perhaps he even wanted to spend more time with them, and somehow, he finally managed today.

Fathers trying their best for families, he thought, even if they unknowingly stumble along the way, in the end, they just wanted to make their family happy.

When the last button was undone and Ace was still quiet, Marco tried, "Ace," he began slowly, "You did say you wanted your dad to spend time with the family more,"

After a few beat, he heard a sigh from across the phone, "You're right," the younger mumbled, "And i guess i'm glad. But what if this is just a one off thing and he's back to never showing up again?"

"Then you use this chance to make the best out of it and hope that this holiday will remind him that you and your mom should be the most important thing in his life," he replied, "And maybe along the way, he'd start being the dad that'll be there for you, like you wish he was. As much as you think he wronged you so far, it's a two way street, Ace. Show him that you want him to be around more, and if he does love you, he'll be there,"

And he hoped that Ace's dad really do understand, because soon after he finished saying, Ace's little laugh sounded too close to a sob than he liked.

"Yeah, i guess so," Marco smiled at the relief in Ace's voice, and wished that he had come after all. Then again, if he had, Roger won't be spending time with his family, and with Ace's father sudden appearance, maybe it was for the best that he didn't, "I should probably go back downstairs. Mom was cooking dinner earlier," the younger took a deep breath, probably to compose himself. Marco wisely did not comment, "Marco?"

"Yes, Ace?'

Silence, and a deep breath, "I… I shouldn't say it on the phone, but," his voice lowered slightly, "I love you,"

Marco was stunned.

Across the phone, Ace's flustered mutters followed, and soon enough, he hastily wish him good night before the connection was cut. Long after the click of disconnect was heard, Marco still had the phone against his ear, staring blankly at the television in front of him.

He was finally broken out of his trance at a notification from his phone - It was Jozu's number, asking him about tomorrow's meeting - and as soon as he replied, he went to Ace's number, and sent a text before leaving to take a shower, a large grin on his face.

 _Love you too, Ace. See you soon._


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days went well as soon as Marco found his rhythm in work. After hearing about what he had done, Pops called to thank him for dragging Roger off from work, and managed to finagle out a promise to soon introduce Ace to him.

The project went well, even if his co-worker won't stop their gossiping antics about Roger's life. Ace sent him various pictures of him in the villa, including one of him blushing slightly with a flower on his hair, apparently taken by his father. Marco saved it immediately and used that picture as his phone's wallpaper.

The day Roger came back, he entered the floor with a loud greeting for everyone, carrying two bags of souvenir from some out of town place. He took one look of Marco and the eye bags he won't deny had started developing, and clapped the blonde man on his shoulder, roaring with laughter.

"Take it easy for today and tomorrow, boy, you earned it," he said with a laughter, "But as soon as you come back, i'm gonna start working you like a mule. Why didn't you tell me you could've easily taken over my job?"

Marco laughed wryly, finishing yet another large cup of coffee.

He went home that night and was suddenly accosted by a giant limpet that was Ace, and it didn't take long for clothes to fly off and them to put his bed to good use. Sex after long separation was Marco's personal favorite, despite only having them twice with Ace, so it was to his greatest regret that he ended up falling asleep as soon as it was over and he landed on the bed.

Still, despite that blunder, he woke up the next morning to the beautiful sight of Ace giggling as soon as he woke up, with a hand on his cheek.

"You went out like a light, and started snoring loud enough to wake up the neighbourhood," the raven haired beauty in his bed said in between laughter, "Were you that tired?" With his brain still enjoying its sleep, Marco only grunted and buried his head further to his pillow. This prompted Ace to laugh even louder, and pulled him against unusually heated broad chest, "Aw, you poor man. Go back to sleep, Marco, the sun hasn't even risen yet,"

He didn't fight it, knowing that he doesn't have anywhere to be as soon as morning come, and looped an arm around Ace's waist. There's something incredibly relaxing and secure about this, and Marco wondered in his hazy mind how much longer does he had to wait before it would be appropriate to ask if Ace is willing to stick around permanently, everyday.

The thought still stuck with him when he woke up a couple of hours later to the sound of Ace's heartbeat against his ear and a hand gently carding through his hair. It was implanted into his brain so deeply, that it was on the forefront of his mind through a morning breath laced kiss, a joint morning shower, watching Ace wear his too large sweater for the day, and while inviting him to go out for breakfast.

Marco tried his best to push it away, simply because he didn't think it would be appropriate just yet and definitely not because he didn't absolutely wanted it to soon come true.

They spent Marco's day off exploring the city, catching up with movies and making out in the darkness of the cinema. Ace made him feel a decade younger sometimes, and he pushed that thought away before he fell into another spiral of thought concerning their age difference. Ace didn't mind, and that's all that matters to him.

They were in the arcade right outside of the cinema, with Marco on his nth attempt to win a cute hatted reindeer doll for Ace. It was in the middle of his struggle with the claw machine when he suddenly caught sight of a blur dashing from outside of his periphery view, and knocking itself towards Ace, who stood right next to him. He fell with a yelp, bumping against Marco, who nearly fell as well.

The red blur turns out to be a young boy with a large grin and a straw hat, who looped his arms around Ace's neck while endlessly chanting his name, "Ace! Ace, Ace, Ace, Ace!"

"Goddamnit, Luffy!" owner of said name protested, but he did little to untangle the arms around him, "What did i say about jumping on me in public?"

By now most of the arcade's visitor was drawn towards the two human lumps on the floor. Marco dusted himself off and helped Ace to stand up, who pulled the straw hat wearing boy along. The boy snickered in a funny way, but it stopped as soon as he saw Marco, "Who're you?" he asked, giving Marco a cursory stare from top to bottom before snickering, pointing to his head, "You look like a walking pineapple,"

"Luffy!" Ace chastised, pinching the boy's cheek and caused him to flail in pain, "Don't call Marco that, apologize!"

"Sowweee, owww, Ace!"

Despite the boy's cries of pain, the raven haired man simply pulled on the other cheek, while turning to Marco with an apologetic look, 'I'm so sorry about this, Marco. This idiot here is my kid brother - cousin, really, it's a big family - Luffy. I forgot he usually frequents this arcade after school," he said, finally releasing Luffy's cheeks, and Marco had only noticed the school uniform. The emblem on the side was of a public school nearby.

Marco chuckled at the boy's pout, which Ace pointedly ignored, "Nice to meet you, Luffy," he extended his hand, offering for a shake.

But instead of having his invitation taken, Luffy simply looked at him funny, "Hey, aren't you the same Marco Sabo and Traffy said Ace won't shut up about?"

"Luffy!"

"You are, aren't you! Sabo said that Ace got creepy lately, smiling and laughing to himself, and it's all because of the Marco guy he goes out with often, and Traffy said that he's been stealing snacks from Ace's bedroom and use his stuff because Ace is hardly home nowadays and wouldn't notice anyway because he's been staying with Marco,"

"Sabo's a big fat liar, i did not— wait, Law did _what_ to my snacks now?"

"Well, he was't the one who ate them, Kid did. But he did use your soap and stuff, because his is out and he's too lazy to go and buy some,"

"That little—" Ace shook his head, and taking a deep breath, "No, wait, that's not important now," he looped one arm around Marco's, "Yes. This is the very same Marco. Luffy, meet my boyfriend. Who i am on a date with at the moment. Which you're interrupting,"

Luffy glanced from Ace to Marco, back to Ace, and a little slower on Marco. He furrowed his brows, "I thought uncle said you're not allowed to date,"

In an instant, Ace's face turned blank, before he scowled, "Well, uncle doesn't really get a say in what i ca—"

"Luffy, there you are," a voice quickly distracted Luffy from whatever he was about to say next, and Marco looked up to see the greenest hair he had ever seen on a person. If he had ever seen one at all, "Why do you always get lost, stupid,"

The boy turned to his friend to protest loudly ("Zoro, you're the one who's always lost, sheesh!") but Marco's attention was on Ace, who had tightened his grip on his arm. He was biting his lips and looking down on the floor, something close to anxiety on his eyes. As Luffy and his friend, Zoro continues to argue, he tries to grab Ace's attention by squeezing his side.

Ace gave him a weak smile, and finally said, "Listen, Luffy, it was nice seeing you and all, but its getting late, and Marco and i got someplace else to be,"

That caught Luffy's attention, "Awww, but i wanted to play with you," he whined. From the corner of his eyes, he caught Zoro looking at Luffy with a frown, seemingly annoyed with something. Oh, well that's one more reason to quickly get out of here.

"Maybe next time, okay? With Sabo and Law too,"

"But they'll be bringing Koala and Kid and then we won't be playing together because they'll be too busy holding hands or kissing," the boy then gazed at Marco, and grimaced, "Aw, man, you're going to start bringing pineapple to kiss and hold hands with too, aren't you? This sucks, i wish i can bring someone around so i won't be left out,"

Behind him, Zoro's expression turned pained. Marco suddenly felt pity for the boy.

Ace chuckled, patting Luffy on top of his hat, "Fine, i'll tell them to lay it easy on the flirting for you, okay?" he jerked his head over to Zoro, "That, or just bring Zoro. It's not like you guys didn't virtually spent most of your time together anyway,"

Luffy widened his eyes with such awe as if someone had just told him the secret of life, "Oh yeah! I forgot about Zoro!"

"I'm literally always next to you, what do you mean you forgot about me?!"

Their squabble began anew - though with more Luffy snickering at his own forgetfulness and Zoro nearly bursting an artery - and Ace took this chance to slip away, pulling him along.

* * *

The ride home was silent, even up to the point when they reached Marco's apartment. Deep in thought, Ace had only given him dispassionate answers whenever he tried to talk, and after a while, Marco took the hint and kept quiet. It continues on until they finally entered his apartment, in which Ace immediately made his way to his sofa, arms crossed and legs drawn to his chest. Silently Marco followed suit once he locked his door, occupying the empty space right next to Ace's.

The younger exhaled heavily, burying his face in between his drawn knees, "I'm sorry,"

"What for?"

He heard Ace smacking his bottom lips with his teeth, "I… i didn't mean to keep it a secret like that,"

Marco quirked his brow.

Groaning, the raven haired man lifted his head, "Well, it's not like there's any good time to tell you. 'Well, i'll see you later! Oh, hey, by the way, did you know that my dad actually hates you and you're the reason i kept fighting with him these days?'" Ace widened his eyes as he finished speaking, turning to face Marco, "I.. I didn't… oh fuck," he buried his face down again.

For his part, Marco only took a deep breath. Can't say he was all that surprised, he was already suspicious about it months ago, from Ace's story about his father. Still, hearing the confirmation was… discontenting. And mildly hurtful.

"I lied," Ace slowly began, voice muffled, "I didn't actually want to tell you. I mean, it's not like he's been doing anything but yell at me through the phone or try to get mom to talk to me about it. Which is a stupid idea, because i swear, mom loves you more than she loves me sometimes," he chuckled, the sound lacking in actual humour, and it died down as soon as he continued, "But then he came to the villa yesterday, you know? And the whole time, he didn't pick a fight about you, he didn't even do anything but help mom with the flowers or tried to teach me how to fish in the pond behind our place,"

With another mighty sigh, Ace leaned back against the sofa's backrest, staring up to the ceiling. Marco watched his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, "He even told me that he's been thinking about what i told him and he's going to try to be around more, and i thought, 'hey, if he listens to me about this, maybe i'd be able to convince him about Marco'. And i was about to but," Ace shook his head, closing his eyes, "I… i can't,"

He choked on his last word, sounding so incredibly upset, that Marco couldn't resist scooting closer and pulling Ace closer by his waist. The younger didn't fight it, falling almost rag-doll like against his side, "I wanted to, i really do, but i kept thinking that it'll make another fight happen, and it'll ruin this trip for mom and i…," he sobbed finally, burying his face against Marco's neck, "He's finally there, you know?"

Ace wrapped his arm around Marco's neck, sliding on to his lap as Marco gently rubbed his side. His chest shuddered with every breath against Marco's own, and his breath was hot against his neck when he spoke, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,"

"There's nothing to apologize for," Marco told him, running his hand from Ace's back to his nape, "Ace, I understand, okay? It's not something you can control if your dad doesn't like me,"

"But i could've talk to him!" Ace exclaimed, pushing away from his neck. He wasn't crying, but the rim of his eyes were red and he actually looked distressed, "It was the perfect time, mom was even there to back me up if—"

"Ace, i'm glad you didn't talk to your dad about me during your trip,"

The younger immediately stops, staring at Marco with wide eyed look of confusion. It was so endearing, and his face was so close Marco wanted to pull him in for a long kiss. Instead, he leaned over to press their foreheads together, staring up onto Ace's eyes, "I'm glad you were thinking about your mom and you first. I guess it is mildly upsetting to know that your dad doesn't like me, but i don't want you to choose between your dad and me. I can wait, Ace," he smiled, "But you've been waiting to fix your relationship with your dad for so long. Don't throw that away on my account,"

And he meant that. From that very first phone call Ace gave him during his trip and through all of the pictures he sent back of himself, Marco could tell that he was truly happy to finally have his father around. It made his days of shouldering additional work and taking over for Roger easier, seeing that even though his decision cost him time with Ace, at least it inadvertently allowed the younger's own family to finally bond.

It made those heavy workload worth it, somehow, if it made two different families that happy.

All of the suddenly, Ace pulled his arms around his neck tighter, forcibly pulling him into a searing kiss. Marco allowed his lips to be bitten and nibbled on, and gladly delved into the willing cavern that is Ace's mouth with his tongue, reaching every crevice. He held on to Ace's nape even harder, when Ace's hand began to caress his chest through his shirt, pinching and scratching.

A thin line of saliva connected their lips together as they finally separate, and through dazed eyes, Marco looked up to see Ace grinning down on him, his face flushed and eyes watery, "I love you," he heard whispered to him, as little kisses was pressed all over his face, from his forehead, to his temple, everywhere at all until it reached his lips again, giving him a sweet and gentle, meaningful kiss, "I love you so much, Marco,"

The blonde couldn't hold back the large smile that appears on his face, as he returned the kiss with one of his own, "I love you too, Ace,"

* * *

"—my god!"

"Roger's gonna kill the bastard,"

"Dude, he's so cute, how the hell did Roger made a kid that cute?"

That was the summary of the mutters and whispers Marco came to that morning, finding at least half of the floor's employee and others from different floors gathering in front of the water cooler. He quirked a brow on the sight, finding them all crowding around Haruta and Izou.

Ah, he could only guess what this is all about.

In the middle of the crowd, Thatch waved him over, "Marco! Marco, holy shit, you gotta see this," he cackled, pointing at the phone Haruta and several other people were eagerly staring at, "It's Roger's son, he just posted a pic of him on twitter and oh man, he scored last night. Roger's gonna kill somebody,"

"One, why would i want to see anything like that," the blonde wagged a finger, frowning, "And two, how the hell did you know that? Did he post a scandalous pic or something? Because if he does, the last thing i wanted is to get involved and see my boss' kid naked. You guys are gross,"

Izou turned his sharp gaze at him, "Come off it, you prude, it wasn't anything like that. He just posted a cute selfie of himself still in bed, but he's naked aside from the open shirt he's clutching on, and you can see the hickey on him," the effeminate man paused, the corner of his lips curling slightly, "Plus, he tweeted _'Morning after, miss you already, love'_. Yeah, that's subtle,"

"Oh! Oh! He tweeted again!" Haruta exclaimed, and immediately everyone's attention was on him, even Marco's, much to his own distress. Well, he's still not coming over there, he really doesn't want to know, "It's a picture of…a supermarket? ' _Gonna surprise my hardworking baby with dinner for when he comes home tired from work! Lol, does that make me sound like a housewife?'_ Holy crap, that's so cute,"

"He's so far gone, it's not funny anymore,"

"Oh my god, are they living together?"

"Roger won't let that happen, he'd gut the boyfriend first before he'd let his darling son go,"

The discussion continues on, and Marco shook his head at their antics. Working hour already started, but it seems like these days, he's the only one who cared about proper work ethics. He pulled his phone out to reply to Ace's text from earlier, something about allergies - he's not allergic to anything but he does have mild lactose intolerance - and made his way to his office. Hopefully Roger will be too busy to made true of his promise to work him harder, but it's wistful thinking.

On his way, Marco caught Thatch's voice asking in the middle of the crowd, "Hey, hey, is it just me, or is the shirt he's wearing looks really familiar?"

* * *

The good news is, he hadn't seen Roger the entire day. The man had holed himself up in his office, and the last time he tried to come in, Atmos stopped him, telling him that he's in a hot debate with his wife over the phone and no one dared to come in. The bad news is, even with Roger not appearing, since he's unable to be disturbed, most of the new workload was moved to Marco, who apparently still retain his temporary position even when Roger was back. So Roger kept his promise, even when he's not actually there to fulfil it.

Marco came home with a sore back - papers might be thin but they're goddamn heavy when stacked and you have to move multiple of them at once - and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep immediately, too lazy and tired for anything else.

He opened the door to his apartment, and was shocked to hear multiple voices in his kitchen, "Hello?" he called tentatively, creeping over from the front hallway inside. There's a wonderful smell permeating, and immediately, he felt his stomach gurgling.

"Marco!" he heard Ace's voice first, followed by rapid footsteps as he appeared from the kitchen's doorway. He was wearing another one of Marco's sweater with an apron tied to his front, and there's a trace of sauce on his cheek. Ace looked damn adorable and Marco was rejuvenated just looking at him shyly smiling up to him, "Sorry about this, it's supposed to be a surprise, but i kinda mess up at first so i have to call in the reinforcement,"

"And here's reinforcement," from behind him, Rouge appeared, an easy smile on her face and her hair pulled up to a long ponytail. She looked marginally cleaner than her son, except for the damp hands, "Nice to see you again, Marco. It's been a while,"

Marco placed his briefcase away and strode over, allowing Rouge to pull him into a hug - though she carefully only let her wrist touched his back, not her hands - and accepted a kiss on his cheek. He then made his way over to Ace, and after brief consideration, placed a quick peck on his lips. He took great glee at Ace's blush and Rouge's giggle, "It's good to see you again, Rouge," he greeted, looping an arm around Ace's waist as he took in the sight of his kitchen. There's still evidence of raw cooking work on his pantry, and there's a large pot - that he knew he didn't own, so it must be Rouge's - bubbling over on the stove, "Now what is this all about? Am i missing something?"

Ace's blush intensified, as Rouge laughed, "You see, Marco, Ace here, who never cooked once in his life other than instant noodles, suddenly decided that he wanted to surprise you by cooking! You should've seen the way your kitchen looked before he finally called me, already near tears,"

"I was not in tears!"

"Any minute then and you would've," the redheaded woman retorted, turning back to Marco, "Well, i've told him what to do next once the sauce is done simmering, so lets hope that your dinner and my hard work won't be ruined,"

"You're not staying?"

Rouge sent him an apologetic look, "I'd love to catch up with you, Marco, but unfortunately, Ace's father is coming home tonight and he's taking me out for dinner," she smiled then, pulling her hair out of it's confinement. It flows over her shoulder smoothly, "Now then, why don't you walk me to the front door, while Ace gives the final preparation for his surprise for you?"

It sounded innocent enough, but he caught Ace stiffening in his hold, and Marco did not miss the stiffness on Rouge's lips. He agreed without another word, letting Ace go with a quick kiss on the cheek before following his mother to the front hall.

"Marco," she began as they neared the door, "I never told you this, but i'm really thankful to you. You're a good person, i know you are since we first met on the cruise, and you make my boy very happy," as she spoke, she began playing with the stray strands of her hair, a smile on her face, "Ace would not stop talking about you, as much as he denies it. He cares so much about you, and honestly, i liked to believe that you love my son just as much,"

"I do, Rouge," he replied sincerely, "I really do. Ace is the best thing that has happened to me in a long while,"

Rouge's smile was fond, "I'm so glad to hear that. You're a good man, Marco, i am confident to say that i may never found anyone else i'd rather trust Ace to," the smile slowly faded, and was replaced with a frown, "But, as i'm sure you've heard, Ace's father was… less than forthcoming,"

Ah. So that's what this is all about, "Yeah, Ace told me. He doesn't approve of me,"

"Well, not you personally, he doesn't even know you beyond that you're Ace's new boyfriend. He's just… protective, in his own way. Ace is our only child, after all, and my husband thinks the world of him," Rouge managed with a small smile. She looks particularly exasperated and fond.

It fell as she took another glance towards the kitchen area, and lowered her voice, "I need you to keep this as a secret from Ace. The truth is, i've been keeping my husband distracted from the both of you, because i wanted them to mend their relationship first. You should've seen them yesterday, i haven't seen them having fun together like that since Ace was just a boy,"

Rouge pursed her lips, "We got into a fight just this morning over it, to be honest. He's so headstrong about it, but he at least agrees that he won't mention anything about Ace's relationship, at least, not until they're on a better speaking term. God, every time i told Ace to call his father, its like pulling teeth,"

Marco nodded, "I told Ace the same thing. He's been wary about his dad's silence about it and wanted to approach him, but i told him it could wait. I know he wanted to fix his relationship with his father, and i'd hate to be the reason for that to fail,"

The smile Rouge gave him was blinding, "I know. Ace told me before you came home," the woman reached over and petted the side of Marco's face fondly. The touch was motherly, like a proud parent, "Oh, as if you weren't nice enough in my eyes, you sweet, sweet man. I really wish my husband would look past his stubbornness to see that he has nothing to worry about,"

He bid her farewell after she declined his offer to accompany her to the parking lot, and closed the door with a mighty sigh, pressing his head against the door.

"Marco?"

The blonde turned to see Ace, now stain and apron-free, standing in the end of the hallway, frowning. It didn't seem like Ace has been there long, "Are you okay?"

Smiling, Marco made his way over, and wrapped his arms around Ace's waist, causing a startled yelp to come out of the younger man. He chuckled, burying his nose in raven locks that smells faintly of herbs and fresh tomatoes, "Well, if i'm not before, i am now," he said half-jokingly, enjoying Ace's muffled groan, "Now, why don't you show me what did you make that nearly reduced you to tears without Rouge's help?"

Ace's cooking turns out to be spaghetti bolognese, with charred ground meat, too much onion and not enough salt added to the pasta. The garlic bread served on the side was oddly moist and incredibly hard at the same time, and the taste of garlic was so overpowering that Marco can still taste it during dessert, a store bought chocolate ice cream that was so sweet it made his teeth hurts.

It was the best dinner Marco ever had.

* * *

"Hey Mar— What the hell is that?!"

Marco looked up from his phone, staring confusedly at Vista and Thatch's horrified face, "What?"

Vista was still staring at him with gaped mouth, as Thatch pointed with a face full of disgust, "That! What the hell are you eating?!"

"This? This is my lunch. It's fried rice,"

"Fried rice?! The fuck— that thing looks like someone just died and you were the one who ended their misery!"

That was too harsh, in Marco's honest opinion. He supposed it does looked a little weird, because the fried rice was beyond red, not helped by the overly cooked vegetables and charred chicken poking out now and then, but it was because Ace accidentally used too much tomato sauce.

He shrugged, taking in another spoonful to his mouth. Thatch squawked loudly, as if offended by his action, "It tasted better than it looked," Though Ace might've undercooked the rice a little, since it was still hard and kept on getting caught between Marco's teeth. But it was salted right and the fried egg still has raw yolk, which is something he likes very much. Even if the egg was a little under seasoned, "My boyfriend made it, woke up early and all. I gotta admit, he's getting the hang of cooking broader stuff,"

It was certainly better than banana bread he tried once, which ended up hard enough to nearly knock Marco's teeth out, and his seasoning is a major improvement from the spaghetti dinner few nights ago. Dinner last night was some fancy soup Ace had one of Luffy's friend taught him to do, and it might actually make the top of Marco's favorite. Now that he think about it, that praise might've prompted the making of this lunch, since it's always been dinner or another miscellaneous snacks before. Ace certainly looked really happy when he told him.

Marco grinned lopsidedly, and texted Ace to confirm his theory.

"Love should've only made you blind, not paralyse your taste bud," Vista said with a shudder, warily staring at Ace's cooking, "That colour on food cannot be healthy,"

Ace's reply came not a moment later. _'Do you really think i'm that shallow?! …Okay, maybe. Do you like it though? I'm still trying to do better and practice makes perfect, right? Hehe'_

It felt like butterflies were filling his stomach as he read the reply. _'I do. Looking forwards for tonight's dinner :)'_

"Hi guys— Is… Is Marco grinning to himself there?"

"Ignore him, he's lovestruck,"

"What the hell is he eating?!"

"He's lovestruck,"

 _'_ _Oh man, now i'm pumped! I had Sanji teach me how to make curry sauce today, it'll be real good, just you wait!'_

"You guys heard from Haruta? Apparently Roger's son is taking up cooking lesson of sorts, think it's for the boy— Why is Marco giggling to himself?"

"Lovestruck,"

* * *

The word 'domestic bliss' was probably the closest description he can think of for his life now.

For the past weeks, Marco woke up to an eclectic variation of breakfast, lunch and dinner, all with their own hint of Ace-ness that he loved. He hadn't gone home once to an empty house as well, and on the weekends, they'll do chores together, where things like washing the sheets and vacuuming would end up with fun fights or impromptu sex. His bathroom was slowly filled with other products, from a second toothbrush, a second towel as well as a second shampoo and bodywash. Not that the latter two was ever used, Ace just moved them away so Law won't be able to steal from him again.

His fridge was also constantly full, due to Ace's incredible appetite and newfound interest in cooking, and during the days Ace couldn't wake up early - or wake up at all due to sore back - Marco could open his pantry and find at least 5 different cereal boxes. He'd endure hard day at work with funny pictures and text from Ace, ranging from things like his day out with Sabo, Luffy and Law or the collection of odd dolls Sugar, Law's creepy adopted father's creepy daughter collected.

Then every night, he'd come home to a home cooked meal - with varying degree of success - Ace's chatter about his day, and fall asleep with a warm body to hold.

"Ace," he called out one day, half asleep. The dinner tonight had been one of the most perfect dish Ace ever made, a perfectly seared blue rare steak with rich mushroom sauce. He shown Ace his appreciation for the effort plenty, plenty of times later on, in bed, "I love you, firefly,"

His respond comes with giggles at the recently established nickname, "I love you too, tweetybird," Marco groaned. He wasn't sure how that name happened, but apparently, it involves Luffy, his hair and a cartoon character. By then, he just stopped asking question.

He pulled Ace closer, relishing in their mingled heat as he pressed a sleepy kiss to the younger's nape, "I wish this'll never end,"

Marco fell asleep, unaware as Ace gripped his hand harder.

* * *

"Is he… okay?"

"I don't know, why don't you go there and ask?"

"No way! What am i, a busybody? That's your territory, Izou!"

"Thatch, i swear—"

Marco sighed for the nth time that day, and the squabble near his office stopped. He walked over to the open door, threw Izou and Thatch a withering look, before slamming it close. They looked properly chastised before he did, but he could hear them continuing their banter.

He ran a hand through his face. God, he's so pathetic.

2 days ago was the last day Ace stayed at his place, as his class will begin once the week is over.

Which is a stupid thing to be sulking for. It's not like Ace won't be coming over to his place every now and then, and they'd still date as usual. But yesterday, he had helped Ace pack what small stuff he had over and as he watched him walk into the house he shared with Sabo and Law, Marco felt like half of his energy was sapped away. He spent the day lethargically in the office, and stayed for an overtime even after Roger left because coming home to a once again empty house was too depressing to think about.

He did it again, fell asleep in his office, and was woken up the next morning by a confused Roger.

"You didn't come home last night?' his boss asked, frowning, "The hell happened to you, Marco?"

"It's nothing," he replied, running a hand through his limp hair, "Swamped with work, 's all,"

It was a blatant lie, and he knew Roger knew it, "Heh, don't start copying me now. Even i'm starting to make an effort to go home to my wife nowadays," the man placed a hand on Marco's shoulder as he grinned, the smile full of sympathy, "Heard from the grapevine that you got someone to go home to as well. Surely you're not going to repeat my mistake?"

At the accidental mention of Ace, Marco simply groaned and uttered, "Not anymore,"

The hand on his shoulder faltered, "Oh," Roger said, barely a whisper, "I'm so sorry to hear that, Marco,"

It took him a while to realize the reason behind Roger's reaction, "What? No, no, we didn't break up, not even close," he reassured the man, "It's… well, he was only staying around at my place because it was class break. But with new semester starting, he has to go back to his place, to study and all,"

"Oh. Well, that's good to he— Wait, semester? Class? Marco—"

"He's in college and legal," And this is why he was reluctant to share anything about Ace, "It's just a pretty big age gap. We're around 10 years apart," Technically 12 years, 2 months and 27 days, but that's not important, "Anyway, it's just… weird, to go back home and find it empty after so long,"

Roger's reply was a bark of laughter, "Oh, you youngster, always so melodramatic. Don't give me that look, you are," the moustached man countered at Marco's glare, "You're acting like you'll never see him again,"

The thing is, he knows he's being stupid. Even Ace looked more cheery than him, sending him pictures of his trip to replenish writing supplies with Luffy and Zoro. He had replied the best he could, but he swore that Ace knew something was wrong, because he kept asking if he was okay.

Speaking of, he hadn't replied to Ace's text from last night.

Marco took his phone out, and his heart sink the moment his screensaver popped up. It was a picture he took the night before Ace was to leave, taken on his porch with Ace poking out his tongue at him as he leaned over the balcony. The light from the inside of the apartment made him looked ethereal in the night sky, and he was wearing one of his favorite selection amongst Marco's sweater; a light blue and yellow knitted sweater and pair of short shorts that, coupled with the long sweater, made it look like he wasn't wearing anything underneath.

He unlocked the screen, and another picture of Ace popped up; this time it was taken from behind as he unknowingly walk ahead during one of their evening strolls. In this picture he was teetering over the pond on his left tip toe, both arms spread and the other leg extended in front of him. He was wearing one of Marco's purple hoodie, hood pulled up and all, and while one couldn't exactly see that it was Ace, they could see the Newgate family emblem printed largely on the back.

There's only 15 others ever made with similar emblem, all of them owned by each one of Edward Newgate's adopted children. Seeing it worn by Ace evoked various emotions in Marco's chest and led him to take the picture.

"That him?" he heard Roger ask, trying to peek from over his shoulder, "Woah, that's ol' Eddy's family emblem, isn't it? You kids lets someone else wear them? Or," From the corner of his eyes, Marco could see Roger wagging his brow, teasingly bumping his shoulder, "Do you kids let people you want into the family wear them?"

Roger laughed as Marco returned the gesture, nearly bumping the older man off from his side, "Ah, what's with you kids and their significant others," he sniffed, voice suddenly somber, "My son's going through the same thing,"

Marco paused as Ace's text popped out on the screen, the nickname 'Firefly' adorning the top of the screen, recently placed, "Yeah?"

The raven haired man nodded, "Heard it from my wife. We made an agreement that she'll keep me up to date about him and his… boyfriend as long as i stop bothering him about it. I don't mind, my son's finally civil when i stopped talking about it, so i guess it's for the best. At least for a little while," he sighed, "She didn't tell me much, just that because of school, they can't meet as often. He's really down about it, though he tries so hard not to show it,"

Right, Roger's son is still college age as well. Though Marco could hardly remember anything about the boyfriend other than that he's much older than Roger's son, "You're starting to spend more time with him then?"

At his question, a fond smile bloomed on Roger's face, "I am. He wasn't really up for it the last month, something about the boyfriend," he scowled, though it disappeared the moment he continued, "but he started calling me first lately. We talk about common stuff, like his study or my work, but it's a start, you know? In fact, i'm taking him out for dinner tonight, to cheer him up. Bet the damn bastard boyfriend wasn't even affected that my son's miserable because of him, so i gotta pick up the slacks,"

Marco frowned, "How'd you figure that out?"

"My son let it slipped that the boyfriend hadn't replied to his text since last night. Ungrateful cur, and to think that my wife thinks i'm still wrong in this," he shook his head, slapping Marco on the back, "You listen to me well, Marco, the moment communication started inching out like that, that's a sign. I'd beat the piece of shit myself, but not only my wife never told me anything about the guy himself, my son seems to really like this one, god knows why,"

Suddenly Marco remembered his own unanswered text, and hoped that Ace does not thinks the same, "He could be busy, you know,"

The older man scoffed, "What could be more important? If some guy wanted to take my son away, he better treat my baby boy like he's worth the world,"

Roger was gone a moment later, and as soon as he was away, Marco quickly texted Ace his reply with multiple apologies and a sloppy excuse that does not involve him sleeping in the office. He found himself waiting for Ace's reply by staring at his phone for 5 minutes straight, before remembering that Ace has morning class and won't be replying any time soon. The blonde sighed, throwing his phone on the desk.

Look at him, mooning over a much younger man like this, so pathetic. He was supposed to be the mature one, but apparently, when it comes to separation Ace handled it better than he does. Roger might think that his son's boyfriend was uncaring, but Marco personally think he was probably handling it like a proper adult, one who is not a clingy bastard deep down.

"I wish the guy could teach me how to be that aloof,"

* * *

Ace found out what he had been up to the night before, however, because Marco was half-dead in his office and was not paying attention when he answered a goddamn video call. He berated Marco, calling him an idiot and urging him to go home for the day because he looked horrible.

"I can't," he replied in mumbles, because that's all he was capable of despite the numerous coffee he consumed today, "You're not there,"

He didn't even realize what he said, mostly because he was having a headache the size of a country for the last couple of hour and had used most of his brain cell trying to fend that off to properly finish a paperwork. But he did caught Ace laughing so hard from the phone, before it was disconnected. Confused, Marco continues on with his day, waving off various people who came up to him to ask if he's alright.

He went home that night half dragged away by Thatch and Jozu, who in return drag Thatch away after his brother found Ace's toothbrush left on the sink and started drilling him about the second person supposedly living there.

Marco woke up refreshed, if a little depressed seeing the empty spot next to him.

The office inhabitants were filled with confusion that morning when Roger came in with a large smile for the first time since a long time, and immediately after him was Marco, looking as sullen as human being could possibly be.

"It's like the cloud has finally found a more fitting host," Vista quipped, when Marco slammed the door behind him, not unlike how Roger behaved the last few months.

At least work went fine, since no one was brave enough to enter Marco's office this time around and he found himself with a rare sparse time in between paperwork. Glancing to his desk - most of his paper was now on the 'out' box than the 'in' - he took his phone out, and went to his last chat with Ace, which was the morning before.

 _'_ _Sorry, i was out of it yesterday'_ he texted, and after consideration, added, _'How r u?"_

The reply was immediate, _'Fine, already working on my first assignment. Met dad last night, it was fun'_

 _'_ _Glad to hear that'_

He was still considering what else to text when suddenly another text from Ace popped up _'Sorry, but i'll call you later, okay? I'm a bit tied up atm'_

Marco's face fell. Pursing his lips, he replied, ' _Its ok. Good luck, love you'_

 _'_ _3'_

He smiled briefly at Ace's emoticon and threw his phone on his desk. Through his office's separating glass, he saw several people trying to discreetly peek from behind cubicles to his office and he rolled his eyes, before walking over to pull his blinds down.

Oh great, now he's the new office gossip.

* * *

Going back home after this morning was a little less daunting, but his steps was still heavy and his hand still hesitated before he tries to unlock his door.

"Get a grip, Marco," he chastised himself, finally unlocking the door with a swift turn of his key, "You're not a teenager anymore,"

He wasn't even this bad as a teenager.

He opened his door, and nearly fell.

"Surprise!" the most wonderful sound that is Ace's laughter was heard on top of him, and the extra weight that latched itself onto Marco lifted itself up to reveal none other than the man himself, "Oh, Marco, i'm— Marco, you look terrible, what happened?!"

Ace began touching his face, thumbing the eye bags and looking down at him worriedly. Marco's eyes, however, mapped the entirety of Ace's face, the worried frown, the downturn of his lips, the freckles that he loves so much and… everything. The weight against his body was real, warm and solid, the voice was not a figment of his dream, and as he wrapped his arms around Ace's waist, it felt so right.

He's dumb, stupid, pathetic, and just about every combination of the words. And the one he held in his embrace now is the one responsible for reducing him to this.

"Ace," he whispered, "Move in with me,"


	3. Chapter 3

"You ever seen a guy's face and it feels like they had a neon sign on them that said 'I'm in deep shit and i don't know how to fix it?'"

"Thatch—"

"Cause that's what you look like right now. Like you're in deep shit and you don't know how to get out of it,"

Marco sent the auburn-haired male a dry glare, plastic glass and cool water pressed against his lips but none actually made it into his throat. He had been holding onto this pose for god knows how long - well, judging by the clock nearby, it's been about 8 minutes - staring blankly to the wall with jumbled up thoughts.

People come and go, chattering amongst themselves as a clear distraction from a gloomy Marco standing next to the water cooler, and so far, Thatch had been the only one brave enough to actually came by and spoke to him. In fact, he seems unaffected by Marco's glare - he had to deal with that for decades, of course he's immune - and crossed his arms as if telling him that he won't be leaving anytime soon.

Thatch quirked his brow. Marco gave up after a single drop of water finally managed to got through his rows of teeth and ended up splashing on his tongue.

"I made a great mistake,"

"Yeah, i kinda figure it out," his adopted brother commented sagely, prompting another glare, "What's this all about, Marco? Come on, you can tell big bro anything,"

"I'm older than you,"

"Until you find your real birth certificate and not the one Pops made for our adoption, i'm the older one," he smirked, circling an arm around the lighter blonde's shoulder, "Now come on, no more stalling. 'Sup with you?"

It sounded nonchalant and casual enough, but Thatch had his upper body pressed against Marco's arm, a known source of comfort that they had developed through growing up together, "Come on man, a lot of things' been going on in your life and i feel like we haven't had the chance to sit down and talk about it like we used to. You've been keeping a lot of things away from big bro,"

Despite his inner turmoil, Marco found himself scoffing fondly, "You just want to have the upper hand from Izou about the office gossip for once," They both know that's not true, but it didn't stop Thatch from laughing out loud, lifting up his hand as a 'give up' gesture.

It was during this moment that Roger passed by, taking interest in their little huddle. He had a large smile on his face, just like he used to before these odd couple of months, "I heard the word 'gossip' and sees two men laughing, and this intrigued me," he said with a grin, taking up a plastic cup from the water dispenser's side, "Is this about Marco's boyfriend? How's it going, by the way?"

Marco grimaced at the reminder, "It's… going," he said, before sighing and looking at the two men surrounding him. At any other time, he'd be reluctant to share. He wasn't quite one to advertise his private life, and he had been keeping his mouth shut about his relationship with Ace so far. But then again, it's Thatch, his own brother and best friend, and Roger is his boss, and someone who knew some aspect of his dating life, at least better than anyone else in this office.

"I asked my boyfriend to move in with me,"

The immediate reaction was a hooting from Roger and a clap to his back from Thatch, until they both noticed his lack of excitement. He caught Thatch sharing a look with Roger, before he asked, "And... that's the problem?"

The blonde shrugged, "Kind of,"

"Why? You were all miserable when he came home for school, would've thought asking him to move in would make you happier. Or did he say no?"

"Wait, school?"

"College. Legal," Marco huffed tiredly, staring down on his half drunk plastic cup, "And he didn't say no, he agrees. Very much, Enthusiastically, even," Very, very enthusiastically. Marco still felt the cramps on his upper legs and the dick chaffing.

And of course both Thatch and Roger understood his implication, because Roger hums approvingly and Thatch whistled lowly, "So, whats' the matter then?"

Marco bit his lips, "His dad… kinda doesn't approve of me,"

And in an instant, the smug, proud look on their faces fell. The arm around his shoulder loosened slightly, "Oh," Thatch pressed his lips thinly, his expression turned downcast, "Sorry to hear that, Marco,"

Roger scoffed, quirking his brow, "What kind of crazy man does not approve of you? You're a good guy, you're responsible, you got a good job and income, you got good manners, and more importantly, you obviously love his kid. Hell, if my kid comes home with a guy like you, i'd approve of you in a heartbeat,"

Whatever Marco was about to say died down, and he incredulously turned to Roger. He found that Thatch was doing the same thing next to him, and both of their combined gazes made the moustached man stopped short, "What?"

"Did you just say that you'd actually approve of someone dating your kid? Did you, Roger 'I've spent months turning into the literal devil because my kid decided to date' Gol, really just says that?" Thatch inquired full of disbelief, and Marco can't hardly blame him, "You, who looked like you just hated anyone who dated your kid just because they dated him?"

"Of course i don't want my kid to date, he's way too young! And the guys he used to go out with were nothing but riffraffs! Doesn't mean i won't make a few exception," he nodded to Marco, who was still dumfounded, "Like Marco. You're a good kid with a good head on your shoulder, i'd have nothing to worry about. 'Course, it helps that i've known you for a while and your dad is my old friend, but yeah, if it was you, i won't mind my kid dating,"

Again, Thatch whistled. He then snickered, pulling on Marco's neck, "You hear that, Marco? Maybe you should drop your boyfriend now and date Roger's kid. No more problem with the in-laws,"

"Bah, if you're the one dating my son, all of my problem would've disappeared," There's a legitimate regret and musing in Roger's voice, and Marco wasn't sure if he should be glad or concerned, "As it is now, though, he's really smitten with the guy. God knows why, the last time i heard anything about him, he made my son sad, something about not replying to his text. I swear to god, if that guy is playing with my baby's feelings, he better be ready for a foot up his ass,"

"Yes, yes, Roger, we are all aware of your papa wolf tendencies," Thatch waved him off, while Marco was lost in his own thought, "But right now, we're talking about Marco's dilemma, aren't we?" with a laugh, Thatch called for his attention, tugging on his neck with his looped arm, "Now tell us, what did you do to make boyfriend's daddy dearest doesn't approve of you? Did you make an honest mistake during first impression or is he another one of Roger type of father? What does this had to do with you asking him to move in?"

Roger scoffed, seemingly miffed that his parenting style was low-key insulted, but he held more interest in Marco's answer when he spoke, "He, i don't know, my boyfriend's mom told me that it was just because he hates the thought of his son dating, so it wasn't my fault per se, but it still bums me out, you know?" at that Marco couldn't stop his eyes from flickering over to Roger, "And there is no way i can ask him to move in like that, he's already fighting with his dad a lot because of me, i don't want to acerbate the situation, you know?"

What was he thinking even asking Ace to move in in the first place anyway? Sure, he had the thought since the first couple of time Ace stayed over, and Ace's sudden reappearance stunned him to the point of loosing his brain control, but he could've held himself back and he won't be in this predicament. Can temporary stupidity hold up in court ruling?

"What's worse is, my boyfriend is so excited when i asked him. I really should've told him it was a mistake, but he was just so happy and," and Marco is a goddamn weak man, especially when it comes to a ball of smiles and excitement that was Ace Portgas. He waved his hand and sighed heavily instead of continuing, knowing that it'll be enough to convey his meaning.

"Ah," the pompadoured man next to him nodded sagely, "So, the Roger Gol type. Which is good because you got the solution for that right here, Marco! Roger," Roger turned to him with thin lips and a look of annoyance, probably from being the object of Thatch's jab again, "What do you think? As a fellow dad-against-sons-dating, would you really be that mad if your kid moved in with his boyfriend, even if your kid is really excited to?"

Marco didn't expect Roger to actually answer Thatch's obvious joke, but the man crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face, "It's not really comparable in my opinion, i mean, if it were my kid, i'd be absolutely furious," he nodded sternly, "My baby is too young to be living together with some guy, and it's not as if there's anyone good enough for him—"

"Except Marco, apparently," Thatch cuts in with stage-whisper, as said man rolled his eyes.

"—Exactly. But the guy's no Marco, and if he dared to even suggest to my son about living together, i will personally come there and chop his head off. I'm only tolerating them dating at the moment because i'm trying to get my son to like me again, but moving in? Oh, the guy better sleep with one eye open," he growled, made a slashing motion, as if to emphasis his point, and Marco reflexively put a hand around his own neck, slowly growing pale.

Oh no, what if Ace told Rouge already about his offer? What if Rouge decided to tell it to her husband, thinking that it was just part of their agreement, but the father decided that dating is an entirely different matter altogether, just like Roger? Not only will it undo all progress Ace made with his father, maybe he'll lose Ace for good. Or maybe Ace will be torn between choosing over him or his dad, and at this point, Marco isn't even sure if he wanted him to. Or if Ace will even pick him.

The thought hadn't even cross his mind and now it's all he could think about.

"But i don't know what that guy's problem is," all of the sudden, any hostility in Roger's tone was gone, "Maybe he's some hardheaded old codger, who got an impossible criteria for a son-in-law, in which case, i'm really sorry, Marco,"

Thatch raised a hand to covered his mouth as he coughed violently - "Cough, Potcallingkettleblack, cough," - and Roger sniffed indignantly at his action. Marco sighed. None of this is helping him in anyway, "What should i do now? I can't take back my offer, it'd crush him. But i don't want him to lie to his dad about this too. This is going to all blow in my face, i just knew it,"

"What's with the negative outlook? Just explain it to your boyfriend calmly then," Thatch told him with a shrug, "Who knows, maybe it'll work out and he'll understand. I mean, you are only looking after his best interest. Just tell him you hadn't thought it through,"

Easy to say for someone who won't be the one to disappoint his beloved boyfriend.

Roger hummed, then snapped his fingers together, "Or just move in without telling the dad!"

Marco stared at him in unabashed shock, "What?"

"I mean what's the harm? The guy won't have to find out, you and your boyfriend'll be happy! That's two problems solved in one solution!"

Thatch rubbed the underneath of his chin with the side of his pointer, furrowing his brows on Roger, "You know, for a guy who's probably a VIP member in the 'cockblocking dads' club, you sure like to spat in the faces of your fellow members, don't you?"

"It's just a suggestion! And as long as it's not my kid, i can say whatever i wanted," Roger cackled, "Eh, it's not like Marco will take me seriously anyway. He's too responsible and goody-goody for it, aren't you, boy? He won't be having this problem if he wasn't,"

To be honest, Marco actually considered Roger's suggestion and entertained the thought. Then he mentally kicked himself before he gets too much into the idea, "Yeah, sorry, Roger, but i'm not going to do that to my boyfriend's dad. He's just looking after his son, anyway, he doesn't deserved to be treated like that," The look Roger gave him for his rejection was one of approval, even if the entire idea had been his suggestion, "But i really do want to live together with my boyfriend, you know? I really want to take that next step in our relationship,"

His admission suddenly put a somber atmosphere, and Marco did not have to look up to know the look of pity the two men gave him. In the end, Thatch let out a mighty sigh, then pulled his hand back just enough to reach Marco's back and deliver several hearty slaps on the wide clothed expanse, "Look, if it means so much to you, why don't you go and meet the dad? Roger got a point, crude as they may be, but you're a mighty proper guy, Marco, you'll probably want to sooner or later, don't you? Who knows, maybe he'll find out that you ain't as bad as he thinks you are and you'd be able to do more than just move in with his son,"

True. Probably not soon, judging by Ace and his dad's relationship's progress, but he does have that in mind, "Think he'll even remotely listen to me?"

Thatch grinned encouragingly. In front of them, Roger chuckled, "Hey, if the guy's anything like me and my criteria, he'd be falling over himself to have a guy like you as a son-in-law,"

* * *

Still, despite Thatch's advice - and Roger's, dreadful as they are - Marco still find himself troubled, and has resorted to fending off Ace's frequent questions about moving in together. It wasn't quite hard, seeing that Ace was getting busy with class, but during the times he was really adamant, the only thing that saves Marco from further inquiry was deflecting the question or feigning interest.

He thought that he could prolonged this for a while, at least, until he received Ace's phone call in the middle of work hour one day. Ace never calls outside of his lunch hour.

"Can you please give him a straight answer already before he drives every one of us insane with his complaints?"

The sound of someone else's voice coming from his phone when it was clearly Ace's number that called him alarmed Marco briefly, at least, until he fully processed the question asked, "I'm sorry?"

The voice, dry and full of snark, scoffed, "You very well should be. If i have to hear one more 'Why is Marco being so evasive?', or 'Do you think Marco was serious when he asked', or the ever dreaded 'What if i heard him wrong' one more time… Fuck, if i have to hear the name 'Marco' one more time in this house, Ace will become my new test subject and i'm coming for you next,"

Marco grimaced as he ran his hand through his hair, dropping his pen along the way, "Oh god," he muttered lowly, but enough to be heard from the phone. He really couldn't get away from this that easily, "I understand, Law. I'm sorry, i'll talk to him as soon as possible,"

"Good, and that soon better _means_ soon. I don't think Sabo can handle having Ace barging in on him and spoil a perfectly good nap every time he needs someone to talk to about his insecurities any longer. He looks so close to tearing his hair apart last time,"

"…He didn't come to you?"

There's smugness radiating off from Law, one that Marco caught even through the phone, "Last time he tried, Eustass-ya was over. I've either traumatized him away from sex permanently, which would be unfortunate for you,… or i have done you a great favour," he chuckled darkly, "Although, i highly doubt Ace is anywhere as flexible as i am,"

Ace is, in fact, very flexible. Great stamina, too. Not that Marco wanted to share that fact with anyone, much less Ace's cousin, "Y-yes, well, it was good talking to you,"

With one last derisive laughter, Law disconnected the call.

Marco sighed, running his hand down his face, then running it back up again slowly. No need to prolong the inevitable, he supposed.

* * *

He called Ace to come over to his place that night, after a careful and well thought out decision between his own place and taking him out somewhere to ease the blow. The privacy of his own place seems a lot more desirable and appropriate for breaking a bad news, compared to Ace's place with two other people, or an entire place with strangers.

Ace came that night with a smile that almost seems to glow, and a level of giddiness that had him skipping his every step.

He left an hour later, storming off after a round of angry shouting all courtesy of him, and suspiciously wet eyes.

Marco watched him leave with a heart as shattered as the vase that broke upon Ace's exit.

* * *

"Okay, so let me get this straight: You asked him to move in with you?"

"…Yes,"

"And he was beyond ecstatic by your offer, but you're starting to have some doubts, so your great idea to loose that doubt is to talk to Roger, the king of overprotective fathers, which does nothing for you other than making you more paranoid,"

He nodded weakly, scraping his forehead against the wooden surface.

"And you, the great genius, decided to take back your offer before its too late, only now he won't talk to you for an entire 3 days already?"

Marco dragged his face to look up from the table - hurting his nose in the process - and met Edward's eyes. Then he slumped back down to the table, face down, blindly reaching for the forgotten bottle somewhere on his left. He lifted it, putting it back down when the weight alone told him that it was an empty bottle, then reached for another. It was also empty.

A dull thud sounded near his head, and again, without looking, he reached for it. It was a cooler bottle, probably still new and unopened, and it's definitely isn't empty. The blonde pulled it close, and simply held it in his hand.

A thunderous laugh sounded above him, full of glee and amusement.

"Pops, not helping,"

"Oh, i'm sorry, you're here for help? I thought you're here to amuse your dear old Pops with funny tales," Edward cackled harder, slapping the table in process. He started choking on his own laughter, taking a swig of his own beer before continuing his roaring laughter, "Marco, you asked to someone to move in with you - a very big deal, by the way - and then you took it back and now you're wondering why they're mad at you?"

"No, i know damn well why he's mad, i just don't know how to fix this if he won't even talk to me!"

He had tried, repeatedly, even. The first couple of time it went to voicemail, and the next few was cut off as soon as the dial tone started. The very last time he tried, just this afternoon, a grim toned Sabo had been the one who picked it up, apparently after Ace deliberately switched their phones for the day. He sounded apologetic enough, but there was a subtle hint that not only is he siding with Ace, but Marco's next call will not end well for him due to it disturbing his rest. The only silver lining in all of this was, based on the 'read' mark on the text and the fact that his calls still goes through tells him that he hadn't been blocked yet and maybe, just maybe, he still has a relationship with Ace.

Marco gripped the beer bottle in his hand harder, whimpering at the thought.

"And to think, your brothers always said you'll be the most mature out of them, when you kept making things like this happen to yourself,"

"When else have i ever done something this stupid?"

Edward didn't replied, but he was gazing down at Marco with a strangely knowing look, all the while still sniggering, "Oh, it happened. Still happening, i believe,"

"What?"

"Never mind, you'd figure it out," the older man sagely told him, nodding with an amused grin, "You'd both figure it out,"

Seeing that his father will be less than generous with an answer, Marco groaned, burying his face in the crook of his arm, "Pops, if you had something to say, just please say it. I'm really not in the mood right now,"

"Hmph, you're never in the mood for anything. You're my least fun son,"

"You want fun, call Thatch. Or Fossa once you pile him with enough drink. Literally anyone else, even Jozu," Marco groused, rather miffed by his father's nonchalance. Usually Pops was the one he'd go to for any sort of problem, but evidently, he's in a bit of a giggly mood instead of a helpful one, "Better yet, call Roger. He seems to be in a better mood these days,"

For some reason Edward laughed even harder, nearly toppling off his seat even, though Marco failed to see what is so humorous about what he had just said. Ah well, he's hardly sober and in a bad mood, everything fell flat right now.

Well, Marco thought, downing another bottle, at least Pops' collection tasted as good as always.

* * *

Funny thing is, several hours later, he was the one who fell of his chair first. Pops insisted he spend the night over, an offer which sounded tempting, yet he declined. Tomorrow is the start of weekend, and he'd prefer wasting his hangover all alone.

That is, if Ace is still not talking to him.

Pops finally relented and called a taxi for him, even offering to pay up front. Before he left, his adopted father clapped his back and gave him an enigmatic smile, "It'll work out, Marco," he had said, in that gentle, paternal tune he always used for his sons, "He'll come around. I know he will, he's always fond of you in particular, after all,"

As always, Pops words were soothing and made him hopeful, but in his alcohol-addled brain, Marco had to wonder what Pops meant by 'always' when he hadn't even met Ace yet.

During the trip home, bored from watching all the flashing lights, Marco pulled his phone out to try and contact Ace once more. He sighed when he sees the amount of unanswered outgoing call on his log. This call was no different. In fact, it went directly to the voicemail. Marco groaned, earning him a confused look from the taxi driver, "Why am i such an idiot….?"

It didn't take long for him to arrive home, and waving off the driver's concerns, he made his way up to his apartment. The cool air helped him gain some level of sobriety, at least enough that he won't be walking around and bumping into things. He made his way over to his floor lethargically, wondering if he should try to call Ace tomorrow again or give him a day to cool off.

Of course, as Marco found as he approached his unit, he didn't have to think long.

"Ace?"

Crouching in front of his door was Ace, bundled only in a thin jacket and a pair of jeans, not enough for this sort of weather. He looked startled when Marco called out for him, his cheeks flushed from the weather.

"Marco!" he stood, dusting off his raven haired man was shivering slightly, "I thought you were inside,"

"How long have you been waiting here?" Marco approached him in two large steps, pressing a hand against Ace's flushed cheeks, the skin cool to the touch, "Ace, you're freezing. Come on, lets get you in first,"

After a few trial and error, Marco finally managed to unlock his door and pull Ace in with him, "Why the hell didn't you just come in? You know you can just use your keys whenever you want," they made their way to the living room, and Marco made a mistake in immediately turning on the light. The sudden brightness made the back of his head throb, but he pushed it aside as he bring Ace over to the sofa, "Better yet, why didn't you just call me?"

"I would, but i left my phone home with Sabo and his is out of battery. And i left your keys," the younger muttered, limply slouching against the sofa as Marco began to search around for a blanket of sorts, "I was sort of in a hurry to get here,"

He found a spare one in his bedroom closet, and thankfully it didn't smell like mothballs, "Why?"

"Because i wanted to apologize,"

Marco paused amidst his rummaging, peering over from the closet to Ace. The younger man was hunched over the sofa, arms hugging himself with eyes hidden behind fallen locks of hair. He looked like a scolded child waiting for his punishment, and it wasn't the first time that Marco truly remembered just how young Ace was. Brashness was in his nature, something Marco knew well after months of knowing him, and that mellowed out any hint of irritation over his recklessness.

With one last pat, he deemed the blanket clean enough, and made his way over to the living room, draping the warm woollen cover over Ace's shoulders, then crouched low enough to meet Ace's downcast eyes, and found him biting on his lower lips. For some reason, the sight of this made Marco smile, "You do realize you could've waited until tomorrow, right?"

Ace shook his head adamantly, "I don't want to," he sniffed, rubbing his nose using his blanket covered hand, "I don't like being mad at you like this,"

At that, Marco's smile fell. He sighed, "No, it's not your fault. I'm the one who should've apologized—"

"But i shouldn't have been such a brat and stormed off like that," Ace interrupted, "I was pissed off at you, but i could've at least waited for you to explain yourself. You're not the type of guy who'd play around with my feelings like that,"

The blonde gripped on Ace's covered thigh, squaring his jaw as he spoke earnestly, "I would never do that to you, Ace,"

"I know," he said softly, before averting his gaze away, "but what else am i supposed to think? "I was miserable the first day i have to go back, ask Sabo and Law. I missed waking up with you, i missed cooking for you, i missed welcoming you home from work, i missed everything. And i thought it was really childish of me to be so attached to you like that, so i sucked it up. Hearing you say you missed me too was the best thing i've heard all week,"

Despite the circumstance, Marco felt a light flittering feeling on his chest at Ace's admission. Then it died down as a plunging guilt when he realized how his accidental offer must've made Ace felt, "I'm sorry,"

"It's just, why would you ask me that if you didn't mean it, Marco? Yeah, it was a bit sudden, but i would've agreed in a heartbeat!" he said with a little foot stomp, as if emphasising his point. Ace sighed, apprehensively gazing to Marco's eyes, "Or do you— do you _not_ want to live together after all?"

"No!" the intensity of his answer startled even himself, and it certainly surprised Ace, "No, Ace, i would want nothing more but to have what we had the last month everyday in my life. I want you to live here, to share my space with you. It was the," Marco pursed his lips, "It was the best month i've ever had,"

Ace's eyes grew soft at his confession, and there was a barest hint of smile that disappear as he whispered, "Then why?"

He sounded almost begging, eyes pleading for an answer that seems so obvious to Marco and yet has eluded Ace greatly. His voice alone made Marco doubt himself, on whether his answer was actually an adequate reason to deny himself this being that has haunted him for days simply by being away. It made Marco want to shake his head and told him that he was wrong after all, that he was the one being foolish.

Yet he didn't.

Marco reached up, burying his hand in the midst of Ace's unruly locks, and his other hand curling around the younger man's hand underneath the blanket, "Because it's not the right time, Ace. Asking you to move is a milestone in our relationship, it would involve us being absolutely sure this is what we wanted, that i'm really what you wanted—"

"I do! I don't want anyone else but you,"

"—It's tolerating each other in the same space, knowing about each other in a deeper aspect and it'll be a shared responsibility—"

"We've been doing it for a whole month, and i wanted to do it again, for the rest of my life if i have to. I'm sure of this, Marco!"

"—And it'll be a big step ahead of simply dating, which is something your father has even yet to acknowledge,"

To this, Ace immediately clammed up, frowning. Marco can feel his hand curling inwardly in his hold, tightening into a fist, "What," he sounded confused, and frankly, Marco didn't know what else is there to ask. How much clearer does he need to be? "What does my dad and him acknowledging us has anything to do with this?'

Marco pursed his lips at the deviant tone in Ace's words, "You and him were already fighting because he doesn't approve of me dating you, what do you think will happen if he find out we live together? You're still trying to mend things up with him, Ace, you don't need any more reason for you two to pick a fight about right now,"

"I— well—" the raven haired man looked particularly frustrated, before he widened his eyes, "He didn't have to kno—"

"I'm not having you lie to your dad, either,"

"It won't be lying, i just don't have to tell him! He hasn't even mention anything about you so far, anyway!"

Only because Rouge had him promise not to say anything, not that Ace was supposed to find that out, "Ace, i'm not taking any risk. You've been having great progress with your dad - you even gone out to dinner with him - i'm not going to be the reason for a setback,"

"That's not fair!" Any seconds too late, Marco would've been hit by Ace's knee as he stood up abruptly, glaring down at the still crouching Marco, "I'm an adult! My dad shouldn't have a say on what goes on with my love life! And," he gritted his teeth, his fist balled so hard, his skin turns white along the edges, "And you can't use him as a reason against me!"

Standing up had Marco's head swirling, but despite the hobbling, he stood on his full height, towering over Ace's 6'1 with his own 6'2, "I'm not using it against you, Ace, i'm just trying not to make things worse. It's not about your dad controlling our relationship, i just don't want you two to fight anymore, specially not if it's because of me,"

"Well, maybe if he wasn't so goddamn stubborn, we won't have to! But even if he doesn't approve of you, i'd still do whatever i want! What goes on with my dad has nothing to do with us!"

"Yes, it does if i ever wanted his approval!"

"Why does it matter?!"

"It matters if i ever wanted to do more than just moving in with you!"

Any other shout that may come out of Ace suddenly died down, eyes widening from the angry frown it had been seconds ago. He looked perplexed, dazed even, as if he was the one who was half drunk instead of Marco, "What… what do you mean?"

It has to be the alcohol, 'in vino veritas' or some fancy crap Izou used to say - though it was more expensive beer and whiskeys than wine, really - because Marco couldn't keep his mouth shut, "You think that moving in is gonna be all i wanted? Ace, we might only known each other for a few months but i love you, in love with you, i'm fucking crazy about you. You think just sharing a living space is gonna cut it for me in a couple of years? I'm gonna take every mile there is and make you mine permanently, forever,"

He surged forward to take Ace's hands, still cool to the touch and a contrast to his own warm ones, holding it in between his, "But i'm an old-fashioned man, Ace, so you'd have to forgive me if i'd rather have both of your parents blessing before i can make any of that come true, including about us moving in together,"

For a moment, nobody talks. Marco panted slightly from his passionate speech, feeling the queasiness returning but held himself up enough to continue, "I'm not sorry for asking you to move in because that's just a fraction of what i wanted to do with you. The only thing i regret was asking this early, and nearly jeopardizing everything," he held Ace's hands tighter, "So please, please understand where i'm coming from,"

In the drunken haze, Marco wished he had a camera. Ace's face was positively red, a flush he knew did not come from the cold, his eyes were shining as he stared up at Marco and with mouth slightly agape. He looks utterly adorable, and if only the situation doesn't prevented him, Marco wanted to encase that face with both of his hands and kiss it all over. And he was sure it wasn't a wish that comes from his alcohol-ridden mind.

The hand in his held curled into themselves.

"Can i," Finally, Ace averted his gaze - much to Marco's displeasure - mumbling as he leaned against the blonde man's shoulder, "Can i at least spend weekends around? Or have some of my stuff here?"

And with that, he lost all self-control. Marco wrapped both of his arms around Ace's frame, holding him with all of his might, relieved knowing that he had somehow been forgiven, "Yes, yes, of course. Come around as much as you like and put them along with my stuff,"

"Can i bring snacks here too?"

"My kitchen is yours too. You've been using it more in last couple of weeks than i ever did in years,"

"…Will you kiss me now?"

No need to reply with anything other than pressing his lips to Ace's, letting it turn from a sweet, lingering kiss to an arousal inducing make out, pouring all of his longing for the past 3 days into the motion alone. Ace fell back against the sofa, bringing Marco down with him, their lips still connected even then. The blonde started biting and teasing the supple lips against his own, all too aware of the hand roaming against his sides that started fumbling against his belt and zipper.

"I miss you so goddamn much," he whispered in between kiss, nipping on Ace's jaw and groaning when deft hands brushed against the front of his pants, "Please don't do that again, don't shut me out for so long,"

Gasping, Ace shook his head, his hand even more insistent in its rubbing, "No, i hate being mad at you. But promise me you'll do the same?"

"I don't think i'll ever could," Marco laughed breathlessly against Ace's neck, descending lower as he unzips the younger man's jacket, "But yeah, i promise," he nosed against a particularly sensitive spot, between the junction of the neck and the collarbone, enjoying the sighs coming out from on top of him before he bit down, hard.

Ace squealed, and in reflex, brought his hand up and had it colliding lightly against Marco's stomach. The older man stilled.

"Marco?"

No answer. Marco retreated, keeping his head low and away from Ace's view.

"Marco? What's wrong?"

Fuck. Not now. Fuck, "I'm… i think—"

"You think what?"

He knew he should've have taken Pops on with that last drink. He was never good with anything beyond the average 40%, "I'm gonna be si—Urp!"

"Wha— Oh, ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Marco! Marco? Hey! Marco, wake up! No, no, no, don't fall asleep there! No—Eeeeww!"

* * *

"You know, they say that one way to see if your relationship'll last long was see if it can come back with positive outcome from a fight,"

Marco blearily look up from the bed to the lean figure leaning against the foot of the very bed, long, tattooed fingers folding clothes with practiced ease, "Of course, i don't believe that. Eustass-ya and i fought every now and then and nothing positive seems to come out of it other than the make-up sex. But you and Ace-ya's relationship seems obnoxious enough to actually prove that right,"

Another shirt was folded, and thrown to a pile neatly, categorize by ownership, purpose and colour. Marco wish he had enough patient to do that, "Then again, he still stuck around after you puked all over his lap, so i guess there really is true love,"

Marco groaned, and the smirk Law gave him was not at all friendly. From the direction of the kitchen, Sabo, Ace and Luffy's voice can be heard, fighting over snack and food placement in Marco's pantry. The doorbell rang, and Ace's loud shout to have Luffy open it could be heard all the way to the bedroom. With a loud laughter, Luffy exited the kitchen area, footsteps thundering as he went. He appeared not long after in the bedroom door, grinning with ballooned cheeks and a pack of what seems to be a smuggled snack hidden in his shirt, "Hey, Pineapple-guy, the cleaning guy is here,"

"Luffy! Let Marco rest! I told you to come to me!" Ace hollered, voice sounding close enough and soon he passed behind the young boy to show the dry-cleaner the vomit stained sofa. The raven haired man pulled on Luffy's ear as he walks by, earning himself a pain filled yelp.

"What a rowdy bunch," Law sighed, folding the last piece of shirt and putting them away before standing up, taking one of the stacks with him. He meticulously put them away in Marco's sparse dresser, his work made Marco's own folding looks sloppy in comparison. He puts the other stack, this time one of pants away, and wiped an imaginary sweat away, "There, that's all he brings with him. He can take care of his own underwear because i'm not touching anyone else' but my boyfriend's,"

Despite the crushing headache, Marco's curiosity was piqued, "What about yours?"

Law threw him a grin, and Marco knew he shouldn't have asked, "Maybe if i have one," he said, purposefully tilting his hips. Ace appeared on the doorway just as he does, frowning.

"Are you seriously talking to my boyfriend about going commando, you skank," the shorter raven haired male accused, "You have a boyfriend, Traffy, go to your own and stop saying sexual things to mine. You think i didn't know you told him about when i walked in on you and Kid?"

Law sniffed haughtily, "Just trying to help. God knows a man like Marco probably gets bored with the dead fish pose after a while,"

Ace gasped indignantly as Law walked away, "I'm plenty active during sex, thank you very much! Not everyone has to overcompensate by being an overly kinky bastard!" he chased after his raven haired roommate, and Marco wondered if Ace forgot why he came into the bedroom in the first place. He could hear their banter from outside of the hall, and Sabo passed after a while, shaking his head while staring at where Marco guessed the two were.

"They got along pretty well usually, until sex lives are involved," the blonde said warily, as if he had been the witness of this fight too many times for his comfort, "And then for some reason they'll try to outdo each other by revealing way too much and i'm gonna get involved in between,"

Marco wondered if that involved Ace talking about him, and for some reason, all he could think about was whether or not he's good enough to compete with whatever it is Law has to dish out against Ace. He had a feeling that Sabo won't appreciate hearing that, however, so he settled with a more sympathetic reply, "Sorry to hear that,"

"Eh, Koala kinda took over lately. She's better at dealing with catty fights like this than i do," he paused, then shuddered, 'Of course, now _i_ have to worry about my own sex life," he left with a grimace, and Marco felt pity for the guy.

Sometime after, he must've fallen asleep, because as he opened his eyes, the curtains were pulled down despite the obviously bright sun outside and there's a hand stroking through his hair. Sleepily, Marco nuzzled back against the hand, earning himself a rich laughter from on top of him, "Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead,"

"I'm hungover, sue me,"

Ace plops down next to him, wrapping an arm around Marco's torso and pressing a kiss on the side of his temple. The apartment sounded quiet, compared to before, "Did they all left?"

"Just to get lunch. I told Sabo to bring you something to cure your hangover,"

The thought of ridding himself of this headache pleases him, and Marco doesn't fight it when Ace pressed closer and laid down nearly on top of him, resting his chin on his shoulder, "Got everything settled?" he asked, voice mumbled from his face pressed against his pillow.

"I didn't bring much, just some clothes and food. And one pillow,"

"Hmm," fighting against the weight in his eyes, Marco turned and peeked over his own shoulder to meet Ace's eyes, staring down mirthfully at him. He smiled, raising one hand from under Ace's body to put it over the younger's head, ruffling the head full of hair. The younger giggled, cuddling closer by slipping in, forcing Marco to move to his side and accomodate Ace's bulk.

"Love you," he heard murmured against his chest, "Thanks for tolerating the ruckus earlier,"

"I don't mind. It's been a while since this place was that lively,"

He felt Ace's hand roaming around his chest and stomach, making indiscernible pattern, "You know, it's going to be officially 6 months in a couple of weeks," he said in non-sequitur, but Marco didn't have to think much to know what he was talking about. Marco had been counting for their 6th month anniversary as well. 3 weeks, 5 and a half day, "Do you want to do something for it, or is it an odd thing to celebrate, after all?"

If Marco had his way, he'd be celebrating each month, "6 months is a pretty long time. Do you wanna go somewhere?"

Ace hummed thoughtfully, raising his head to rest his chin against Marco's chest. He had his lower lips jutted out cutely, and his eyes rolled upwards to the ceiling exaggeratedly. Marco wanted to laugh; it's so transparent that he does have something in mind already, yet tried to keep up the illusion of only thinking about it now. No wonder he's asking if Marco wanted to celebrate their 6th month anniversary first, "Long Ring Long Land?"

Long Ring Long Land is the name of a small island in an archipelago turned theme park, reachable only through a ferry service. Their advertisement blared every single day on the television, where an odd looking man with sharp hair and long nose boasted adrenaline-pumping rides and action filled shows all day. Recently, the ad was playing on air again, promoting some sort of a new giant rollercoaster incorporating the water around them, called 'Davy Back Fight'.

Kind of too rowdy for a supposedly romantic filled day, but then again, this is Ace. He expected nothing less.

And because he is Marco, he suddenly remembered a fairly old and successful deal in the office from way back and already had it in his mind to pull some favours on some associates. He's pretty sure that he still has Foxy's number, back from when he had to deal with the eccentric CEO. Then maybe he should lodge in for a leave as soon as possible to Roger, just so he won't be caught off guard.

This might be a chance to make it up to Ace after the last fiasco.

With all of that in his mind, he hid his smile on the pillow and mumbled, "We'll see, Ace. We'll see,"

Ace pouted at his answer, but did nothing else than bury his face back to Marco's chest, snuggling closer, "Oh well, I'm happy enough right now," the younger whispered, his moving lips tickling Marco's skin, "So, so happy,"

It didn't take long for him to start snoring lightly after he said that, and Marco pulled him closer with an arm around his waist, falling back to sleep.

* * *

A week gone by, and their new arrangement worked well, even if it left so much to be desired. The beginning of the weekends were fine, like a long awaited continuation of their month long co-habitation, but there was a growing elephant in the room when Ace had to leave and go back to his own place on the first day of weekday. It won't always be like this, Marco assured both Ace and himself, they just have to be patient.

But until when?

When the second week passed and Marco had to drive Ace home again, he realized that it's not working. They're compensating, he thought, and none of them were really happy with this arrangement. Marco would've blamed himself and his abrupt proposal again, but that's like beating a dead horse. What happened, happened, and there's no turning back from that. All he could do was to fix it.

The third week of Ace staying over, a lot of things had happened and Marco felt like it was a sign. A good sign.

First of all, the week means Roger had been all cheery for the entire month, and the office had started putting on a bet on how long it would last. Izou told them that his son is still dating after all, and Haruta said there's hints that told him that the son has moved in with the boyfriend. Unless Roger suddenly had a change of heart that none of them know of - impossible, as if anything could go under Izou and Haruta's radar - then most likely the son moved in in secret and this is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Marco thought it would be ironic if that guess was proven to be true, but he's not going to be the one to burst his boss' bubble.

Still, a happy Roger means a Roger than doesn't ask too many question about why Marco wanted a day off all of the sudden. He had given it all to happily, winking as he signed his leave form. The only drawback of this was Marco slowly realizing there is a second office gossip chain starring _him,_ and Roger's comment to 'Have fun, but remember! His dad's watching!' does nothing but stoke the fire. Thatch swore up and down that he didn't tell anyone, and Marco would've turned his gaze to Roger before he remembered Pops existed.

He had to remember to call home any day now, just to make sure.

Second, his call to Foxy had been a success. The man seems like a sly fox - no pun intended - when he heard about Marco's intentions, but he nevertheless gave him the elusive and sold out weekly VIP Passes that allows them special queue privilege and best seats in the daily shows. These passes have been sold out until the next 3 months, due to the new ride and the upcoming holiday season, and while Marco had a sneaking suspicion that he's paying more than the normal retail store, the thought of being able to make Ace happy made it worth it.

The third thing happened during the weekend, during Ace's weekly stays. He had been bursting with laughter, telling him some funny story from his recent outing with his father. T Apparently, the man had tried to make a funny joke in a department store, only to ended up having his moustache caught on the mannequin's dress. A store attendant had to be called over to help him, and it wasn't every day people get to see a middle aged man kneeling on the floor with his face pressed against a mannequin's crotch.

"I would've taken a picture, but i was laughing too hard to actually pull my phone right. Dad was like 'Ace! Stop laughing and help me, you little shit! Stop laughing! Don't tell your mom! Oh god, don't tell your mom!',"

Marco chuckled, swallowing another spoonful of his dinner, aglio e olio starring Ace's first attempt at homemade pasta. It looked more like something a child would make in an arts and crafts class instead of an actual cooking, but it was actually delicious, "Did you actually tell Rouge though?"

At his question, Ace laughed even louder, holding onto his belly with tears coming out of his eyes, "Of course i did! Now mom won't stop pulling on her skirt whenever dad passed by and telling him not to get stuck. I've never seen a grown man openly sulk like that in my life,"

Dinner went along smoothly, and during the dishwashing, Marco felt Ace pressing himself against his back, arms wrapping around his middle. He looked up from the sink - it was the agreement, Ace cooks, he cleaned - regarding the rich black locks ticking his shoulder, "I really enjoyed spending time with my mom and dad," he heard Ace said, "It was always a lot of fun, like it used to back when i was a kid and lately, i can't help but to think 'I wish Marco can be here too so all 4 of us can enjoy this moment. Just me, and everyone i love dearly',"

He didn't say anything else afterwards, nor did he made any sort of remarks close to it the entire night.

Those words were still in Marco's mind come Monday morning, however, and that was how he found himself dialling a number he had quietly copied from Ace's phone.

His call was picked up after two dial tone, and a soft woman's voice cheerily answered.

"I'm so sorry for bothering you like this," he asked, after she calmed down from her initial excitement, "But i don't suppose you have time to meet up soon?"

* * *

Under any other circumstances, Marco knew they must've made an intimate sight. A man and a woman sitting together in a corner booth of a small dinner, occasionally laughing together as they sip on wine in between meal.

Illuminated by the Baratie's dining room's candelabra, Rouge had never looked better. She had her hair in a loose braid, cascading down over her shoulder, and the casual dress she wore tonight was modest yet elegant on her slender frame. Marco was not blind to the amount of men bewitched by her tonight, although he suspected she was more or less oblivious to the attention she garnered from the moment she walked in.

An elderly couple a few seats back remarked unrestrainedly that they made a cute couple. Rouge nearly choked on her drink, and whispered in between laughter how much she wanted to call Marco 'son-in-law' out loud, just to look at the faces of the people around them.

"It'd have to be official first, Rouge," he said, chuckling at the mischievous glint in her eyes. Marco hadn't met the other parent yet, but he always suspected that looks wasn't the only thing Ace inherited from his mother, 'As of right now, i'm still a little below that rank,"

"Oh please, as if that's not going to happen anytime soon," the redheaded woman rolled her eyes playfully. She might simply be joking, but Marco felt pride bubbling in his chest by the amount of confidence she had in him. Taking another sip of her wine, she finally puts her glass down and folded her arms on top of the table, staring at him with gleaming eyes, "Now then, what is it that you're bribing me for?"

Marco nearly choked on his wine this time around. He supposed that is what he's doing, but to have it put so bluntly…, "Now what makes you think that i don't simply want to catch up with a dear friend? It has been months since we have seen each other. Heard from Ace you've been busy with your husband,"

Rouge laughed pleasantly, elegantly covering his mouth with the back of her hand, "Oh please, Marco, if you wanted to catch up, you can just do it on the phone. And yet, you're bringing me to the fanciest restaurant in Raftel, dressed up so nicely, and plying me with wine," she gestured to her wine glass, which she promptly emptied. A nearby waiter, a young blonde man with an odd swirl on his eyebrows immediately ran over to refill her drink, blatantly staring at her, "Plus, Ace isn't here, and i think you're doing it on purpose,"

The blonde lifted both of his hands, smiling slightly at her insight, "Guilty,"

She laughed victoriously at his answer, and took a sip from her newly refilled glass, "Okay then, lets hear it," she looked at him in amusement, before suddenly widening her eyes, "Oh my god, is it what i think it'll be? Oh, Marco you don't have to do all of this is if all you want is my blessing for my boy's hand!"

Marco blinked, "Rouge, Ace and i have only been dating for short of 6 months. That's way too early, don't you think?"

"I married my husband after only 3 months of dating and ended up happily married to him for over 20 years with a beautiful child, what's your point?"

Beat, "Really?"

She nodded, "Proposed to me out of the blue, surprising my entire family. Uncle Garp nearly pummelled him then and there, but his defense had been 'i know Rouge's the one, so i'm not waiting'," she paused, tilting her head in musing, "Well, Uncle Garp still pummelled him afterwards, but my cousin Dragon held his dad back just enough for me to say yes to the battered pulp that becomes my husband. He's right, after all, i knew he's the one, i don't see why i have to wait,"

Somehow, Marco wasn't surprised to hear that overprotectiveness and violent family member is the norm in the Portgas family tree, "Well, i guess you can say that this is relating to it in a way,"

Rouge pouted, looking rather disappointed. She looked both younger and like a copy of her son when she does that, slightly unnerving Marco in the process, "Oh well, there's always next time, just don't keep me waiting for too long. Or else, i'll sink my claws into you and make sure you won't get away; good men are hard to come by, you know, and i'd want nothing else but the best for my son," she giggled, demonstrating her metaphor by brandishing her neatly manicured fingers.

Marco laughed alongside her, relief swimming in his chest knowing that at least one person in Ace's family approves of him this much, "Don't worry, Rouge, i'm not going anywhere. Ace is it for me, i know that for sure,"

The smile she gave him was one of pure joy, "Well then, what is it that you need? I'll help you in any way i can,"

This is it, the hard part. Marco cleared his throat, and pressed his lips thinly. He had no doubt that she will help him now, and at the very least, that was good to know. All he had to worry about was the outcome of his request.

He looked straight into Rouge's eyes as he spoke, "I would've asked Ace of this, but i'm afraid that it will incite another fight between them and i don't want to risk that. So i hope that through you i might have a larger chance of success," Marco curled his hand on top of the table as a fist, mustering all of his courage, "I wanted to meet with Ace's dad, and ask for his blessing,"

* * *

Baratie was close enough to his house that he had opted to walk, and now he was glad for that decision because it gave him time to clear his mind.

The street was close to a bustling shopping district, even in the middle of the night. The neon street lamps were nearly redundant in the face of the bright shopping centre lights, and he walked amongst the crowd, wandering amongst the late night shopping crowd.

Marco sighed, stopping on his tracks as he looked up to the night sky, "Guess now only time will tell, huh?"

He continued his walk, muling over the entire night's event as he moved from shop to shop. He wasn't a big spender himself - Thatch called him frugal for a good reason - but he liked window-shopping, admiring the displays in shops. The antique store was ran by an elderly man as old as the objects in his store, and the little convenience store in the middle opened 24 hours. The bookstore was his favorite, the one he frequented the most usually had his favorite series or books, so it was with mild disappointment when he saw that the books they had on display right now had none of them. He'll come back in a week, maybe they'll have something else.

He passed a music store, a tobacco store, a liquor store - maybe he should buy Pops something for his next visit - an apothecary and—

A jewellery store.

Marco paused, staring at the large writing on the glass that said 'Gran Tesoro Jewellers', and back to the items on display, showing large choices of jewellery couture, ranging from grand necklaces he had seen some rich clients use to little modest accessories like earrings. Most of them were made out of gold, a bit gaudy for his taste, but there are a few that Marco allowed himself to stop and stare at a little longer.

Then his eyes settled on a small ring, a sleek white gold band with golden encrusting on the inside and intricate marking, topped with a small red gem that shifted its colour with the display light. It was beautiful, the gem blood red for a second and breaking to a gradient that reminds him of the evening sky.

Or a young man's fiery temper.

The blonde felt like knocking his own head. It's because Rouge put the thought in his mind, Marco told himself, and one accident was enough. This is not something he'd easily get out of with his relationship intact if he made the same mistake again. He shouldn't do this, shouldn't even contemplate it. Not yet anyway.

And yet Rouge's words, her various hints and her smile when she told the story of her husband's proposal returned to Marco's mind, playing over and over like a broken took another peek at the ring, sitting there innocently in it's display, and yet at the same time, it felt like the ring is mocking him.

He lifted his head up, was surprised to see a blonde man smiling eerily at him from behind the display. There's a name plate on the front of his breast pocket, informing Marco that he is staring at Mr. Tesoro himself, and the man motioned towards the front door of his shop, still smiling. The meaning of his gesture is clear, and Marco found himself staring at the man, the ring and the door, all in that order.

When he came home that night, Ace called him just as soon as he walked in from the front door, "Mom said she saw you today, but didn't say anything else,' he sounded like he was pouting, "So, how's your day been?"

Marco closed the door with his hips, and leaned back against the door, sliding down to the floor. His motion made a noisy crinkling sound from his pocket, and he reached in to wrap his hand around a receipt paper, as well as a credit agreement.

He's so fucked.

"It was alright. Nothing remarkable,"


	4. Chapter 4

"I still think it's an illicit romance,"

Were the first words Marco heard upon entering the break room, to find Haruta, Izou and Vista sitting on the corner table, the little brunette had his nose stuck in his phone, browsing in high speed, as the two older men spoke over him. Izou's brows furrowed in concentration, "Think about it, putting it on the down low but a highly active sex life, that depressive episode he had, not to mention, didn't he say they met on the cruise? A cruise, Vista! That's like the den of infidelity!"

"Oh, come on, Izou, that's all just circumstances. Besides, we're talking about Marco here, he wouldn't do something like that," Vista countered, and Marco was torn between rolling his eyes and feeling grateful at the vote of confidence. He settled for the former, and began to turn to leave. Just because he knows there's a gossip chain about him, doesn't mean he's interested in hearing any of it.

Besides, he doesn't think that the break room is an appropriate place to reply to Ace's new text messages anyway.

Back in the break room, Haruta looked up from his phone, "Pops told Jozu he knows exactly who Marco's dating,"

Izou and Vista paused their debate, staring wide eyed at the youngest in the room, "What, really? Did the damn bastard let Pops meet the guy but not us?!"

"Nope," Haruta replied, popping the 'p' on his word, "He won't say how he found out, but he did. It's nothing any of us should be worried about, but whoever the guy is, Pops said it's 'probably destiny'. Or karma, depending on who you ask,"

The break room was silent. Vista twirled his fingers around his neatly groomed moustache.

"I don't get it,"

"Me neither. Pops is always like that," the brunette shrugged, looking back to his phone, "Hey, Roger's son's just posted a picture. He's making a cake of sorts, something about a celebration? Wow, that thing looks like a disaster, i pity whoever has to eat it,"

* * *

The rich scent of chocolate immediately attacked his sense as soon as he was 5 meters away from his door, and the more he walked, the stronger it became. Marco's initial thought was that it had been Mrs. Tsuru, the elderly lady next door making a treat for dessert, until he reached his own door and heard voices coming from the inside. The blonde immediately perked up; Ace did say he will be staying over for the next 2 days, as they prepare for their anniversary - not that Ace knew where they are going, he just told him that they're going somewhere.

He unlocked the door quietly and made his way inside, nothing the chattering up at least 3 more people coming from his kitchen. This close, now he could also smell the underlying burnt scent underneath the overpowering chocolate, and Marco arrived in his kitchen to see Ace and a blonde man with their backs to him.

In front of them, on the pantry table were two plates of cake, or at least, that's what Marco thought they were supposed to be. One of them was clearly a cake, topped with glistening chocolate frosting that looks like something out of a cooking magazine. The other one was less of a cake and more like a lump of chocolate sauce, flatter than the other one with the frosting liberally added all around it. Both cakes had pieces cut away from it, and said cuts were placed in front of a third and fourth person in the dining room, a young man with long nose and curly hair, and a little auburn haired boy with chubby cheeks.

"So?" he heard Ace asked anxiously, "What do you guys think?"

The little boy scrunched up his nose as he tasted one of the cuts, the neatly cut one, "Sanji's cake is really good as always," he said, grimacing at the other plate, one with the sad pile of chocolate, "But Ace's cake is bitter and way too sweet at the same time. And i like sweets!"

Next to him, the long nosed boy gagged. He immediately pushed the chocolate lump away and pulled the other cake plate, take a large bite out of it, "I don't know how you did it, but _Sachertorte_ isn't supposed to taste like that," he took another large bite, finishing the entire plate, and earning himself a protest from the boy, "Like, Sanji's all moist and rich, the apricot and the chocolate taste was balanced, it's a great cake. Ace's is… well, i never thought someone could ever mess up chocolate, but you did it somehow,"

Ace groaned, running a chocolate and flour crusted hand through his hair. The long nosed boy on the table cringed at the display, "This is the third batch already, and my anniversary with Marco is in 2 days! I don't get how i keep messing it up, I copied his every step!"

The blonde man next to Ace turned, his finger twitching as if he was searching for something to hold, "Well, you've been messing up since we have to separate the eggs, i'm just surprised something still comes out of it,"

"Well, you were doing things too fast," the raven haired man crossed his arms, glaring at the blonde, "Also, how am i supposed to know you're not supposed to melt chocolate directly in the pan— Oh, Marco!"

The little boy on the table yelped, almost jumping from his seat as Marco entered, looping an arm around Ace's waist as he leaned over to the table and grab an abandoned fork. He cuts a generous piece from the lumpy cake and took a bite out of it, ignoring the gasps around him.

It was… odd, to say the least. Bitter and sweet mingling together unevenly, and while Marco was not a big fan of desserts, he was sure that no cake should ever have a crunch to it. A second chew made him taste the source of the burning smell, adding even more flavour to the bizarre combination in his mouth, and at the third crunch, he began to suspect that was actually egg shells.

"It's pretty good," he said after swallowing, giving a peck to Ace's freckled cheeks, "Well done,"

The blonde man, Sanji, blinked several times, before shaking his head with an exasperated huff, "Ah, so we're baking for a man with no taste. Guess we don't have to try too hard, after all,"

"Hey!" Ace glared indignantly, though it wasn't clear just who he was offended for.

"I was wondering how anyone survived with those lethal foods. Guess this explains it," He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a pack of cigar, "Well, it's getting late, we should be going now. Usopp, Chopper, we should head back home soon. I haven't started cooking dinner yet and shitty marimo's bringing Luffy over today,"

"Okay!" the little boy, Chopper jumped down from his seat and trotted over. He paused in front of Marco, and gave the older man a sheepish smile, "You're really brave, but i hope you're well stocked on stomach medicine. Or, i can always prescribe you some diarrhoea medication,"

"Chopper! Traitor!"

The long nosed boy, Usopp stretched as he stood, patting down his overalls, "But aren't you glad, Ace? At least the person who you'll be giving the cake to is also the only person who can eat it," he said cheekily, gazing at Ace's creation, "Though how anyone could is beyond me,"

"That's it, everyone, out!"

Chopper and Usopp left the kitchen, giggling at Ace's irate, Sanji following behind them in a more leisure pace. He turned his head back, hand poised for a wave before he suddenly stopped short, "Hey, you look familiar, actually. Did we met before?"

Marco quirked his brow, aware of Ace's curious gaze aimed towards him, "Hm? No, i don't think—" Like a lightbulb suddenly flicking on in his brain, Marco's brain began to remind him of the event not a week ago, a single, quick moment during his dinner with Rouge, "Wait a minute, aren't you the waiter at Baratie? The one who's constantly fighting with the other waiters to serve our table and pour Rouge wine?"

"Mom?"

Sanji snapped his finger, eyes widening in enlightenment, "That's right, you're the weird guy with the lovely red haired lady. Ah, not everyday is that shitty restaurant greeted by such a view! She was such a goddess, with long flowing hair, her delicate hand, and her face! Her pretty eyes, the button nose, the lovely freckle…s," Marco watched as the blonde man abruptly halted his simpering, and turned towards Ace. He clicked his tongue, suddenly loosing the attitude, "Oh. That kind of explains why she also felt familiar. Turn her hair black, and she's literally a carbon copy of you. Well, minus the beauty and the grace and add more raging temper and muscles,"

"Why you—"

Marco held on to Ace's waist tighter as the raven haired man began to advance, and Sanji finally left with a leisure wave, following his friends. Once the door was slammed close, he loosened his arm with a chuckle, watching the pout that emerged from Ace's lips. Looking around, he could see the piling amount of pans and bowls being dried in the drying station and that other than the two plates on the table, his kitchen was more or less spotless. Well, at least they cleaned before leaving.

With Ace still sulking, Marco made his way to the chair Chopper had occupied earlier and sat down to pull the plate of the abandoned cake and a fork. He began to dig in.

"What were you doing with mom?"

At his third forkful of cake, Ace asked, pulling Marco's attention away from a particularly gooey chunk of cake, "Oh, just dinner," he answered, sounding quite blasé despite the sudden nervousness. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Ace what had transpired during that dinner. Especially not what happened _after_ he left, "Haven't met her for so long, felt guilty for not meeting once in a while,"

The younger man sidled closer to him, resting his hips against the table's edge right next to Marco, "In a high class restaurant like Baratie?"

"She's your mother, i had to make a good impression," Which is a bullshit that Rouge caught, and if he look up now from the cake, Marco feared that Ace will too.

So he kept eating, purposefully not looking up at all, until he heard a sigh, "Fine. Don't tell me," a finger poked the side of his head, seemingly about to go further until the owner remembered the state it was in, "Ugh, i need to take a shower. You don't have to eat that you know, if Chopper and Usopp said it's bad, then it's bad. They've been around Sanji's cooking long enough to know a less than decent food when they saw one,"

Marco glanced towards the other plate of cake, "That'll be a waste. You made this for me, after all," to make a point, the blonde scraped the rest of the remaining cake to his fork, and lifted it up to show Ace the dark brown blob that it has become. Then without looking away from the younger's eyes, he shovels them into his mouth, straining his jaw a little to accomodate. It ended up making his cheeks bloat and made chewing hard, but it was worth seeing Ace burst out laughing.

"You're ridiculous sometimes, you know that?" he said mid-giggle, wiping away an excess chocolate from Marco's lips with his thumb. There's a rare show of gentle warmth in his eyes, as he leaned down and lovingly kissed the pouting, chocolate smeared lips that is Marco's. As they parted, Marco noted the chocolate smears accidentally transferred to Ace's own lips and snorted.

With some difficulty, he finally swallowed the cake and saw as Ace hoisted himself away from the table, making flecks of powder and flour fell on to the floor, "I should really go and take a shower, i smell like eggs," he groaned, flexing his back slightly before turning to Marco with furrowed brows, "Seriously though, don't eat the rest. Not even Sanji's, I don't want you to get a stomachache,"

Sighing as he casually took his shirt off, the younger glanced towards the two plates, unaware that Marco's eyes had zeroed in on his back, the familiar freckled shoulder and the rest of the milky smooth skin, "What am i going to do with them though? Sanji's i can always refrigerate and eat later, but i don't think i can even stomach mine after seeing Chopper's face. Ugh, Marco, how can you— Marco!"

Unbeknownst to him, the older man had swiped a rich dollop of chocolate from his empty plate, and reached up to smear it on his back. Then, using both of his arms to trap Ace in place, Marco lowered himself enough to lick it off of the skin, sucking and biting on the flesh. The combination of the chocolate and the salty taste of skin was not at all off putting.

Still sucking, Marco reached over for Ace's failed cake, blindly dipping his fingers on the frosting and smearing them all over Ace's side, from his hips to the front of his chest, "I can think of a few ways," he muttered, licking along as he lowered himself down to Ace's hip level, and bit the bony junction. The younger cried out, stammering Marco's name as he tried to push the blonde away weakly.

"I-i need— aah! Marco! I need to shower first!"

Proudly, Marco stared at the perfect teeth indent he made on Ace's hips, massaging it slowly with his thumb as he look up to meet Ace's red face. He grinned, a rare sense of mischievousness enveloping him, "You can take one later, after i make sure you're thoroughly filthy," he purred, licking another strip of chocolate on Ace's skin, making the younger shudder, "Gotta make sure the cake doesn't go to waste,"

* * *

 _Your brother's gonna eat me out of the house one of these days. At least shitty marimo's paying for the groceries this week. Btw, what did you do with the cake?_

Was the text that Marco saw popped up in Ace's phone screen, as he peered over from its owner's shoulder - littered with marks and teeth indents - late that night. Ace's thumb moved lethargically on the bright screen, a deep contrast to the entirely dark bedroom.

 _Marco ate it all_

Marco snickered. Without looking back, Ace reached over and slapped him on the back of his head.

 _That shitty cake? All of it?! Wow, what a beast_

Sneaking his hand under the blanket, Marco grab an entire handful of Ace's generous backside, massaging it slowly as he leaned over and press kisses all over the litany of marks and indents on the younger's shoulders. He heard Ace sigh, as he typed.

 _Trust me, i know_

* * *

"So!" Thatch slammed a new pile of papers down on his desk, startling Marco in the middle of reading a contract, "You're not gonna be in tomorrow,"

The blonde sigh, dropping his pen to the table as he gaze up, "No, i won't. But you all know that weeks ago," he gave the papers Thatch brought a cursory glance, and could deduce from the form on the very top that it wasn't even supposed to go to him, "Break time is in 15 minutes, Thatch, you want to talk, wait until then. Right now, bring those forms to Curiel, his section needs to finish that by tomorrow,"

But instead of following his orders, the auburn haired man waved his hand nonchalantly, and propped himself against Marco's desk. The blonde rolled his eyes as he spoke, "Eh, who cares, they can do it tomorrow, without the watchful eyes of the manager and the boss,"

Marco opened his mouth, rebuff on the tip of his tongue until he processed Thatch's words, "Wait, the manager _and the boss_?"

"Yeah, Roger's taking tomorrow off too," the man leaned his elbow on top of the pile, crinkling the very top paper. Marco wanted to care - that thing will be sent to a client after all - but he was too fixated by Thatch's words, "He's been planning it longer than you have, something about taking his wife and son for a road trip or something, even rented a van out,"

"Wha— who's going to supervise then?! I can't just cancel tomorrow, matter of fact, why did Roger even approve of my leave then?"

"Marco, brother dear, relax," Thatch chuckled as he pushed Marco back down to his chair, even patting the top of his head. The blonde growled, "It's just going to be one day, and everyone here are responsible adults who knows their job. Besides, it's Friday, we literally have nothing to do on Fridays," Marco did not ease his glare, making the pompadoured man sigh, "Oh man, me and my big mouth. Roger was right, i shouldn't have told you,"

"You and Roger are both too relaxed,"

"And you're too uptight,"

The idea of leaving the office without any reasonable figure was daunting, and Marco tried to talk to Roger about it, but he couldn't find the moustached man anywhere the entire day. Atmos, whose cubicle is closest to Roger's office told him that the man called his wife and disappeared to the elevator hours ago, and has yet to come back.

In the end, Marco simply gave up, continuing the day as always.

He tried again before leaving for the day, only to find Roger's office empty. He sighed tiredly, catching the attention of Blamenco, who was just finishing for the day, "I'm really glad he started spending more time with his family," he told the tubby man, once enquired about his despondent expression, "But this is starting to get out of hand,"

"You're the one who gave him the idea," Blamenco replied, shrugging. Marco conceded.

In the end, he decided not to think about it too much. He and Ace planned to go for a last minute shopping for their little excursion tomorrow, and he's supposed to pick his boyfriend up from his house. It won't do to dwell on office matters during their time together.

He arrived home on record time, checking his phone for the nth time since that morning when he received Foxy's email with the electronic copy of his VIP Passes. All of his preparation is complete, his car's fuel refilled, passes ready, now all he needed was to throw away any worries about leaving his work and it'll be a perfect 6th month anniversary.

Or so Marco thought, until he entered his front door and was welcomed by Ace's screaming voice.

"—blame me?! I said it nicely to him that i'm sorry, he doesn't have to be that angry! Who the hell tells someone a plan like that the day before?!"

Marco blinked in confusion, making his way to the bedroom, where the sound came from. The raven haired man was sitting on the bed with his back to him, one arm propped against his spread thigh and head buried in his hand, "Well, he should be apologizing to me!" he shouted after a silent interval, presumably waiting for the other person in the phone to finish talking, "I don't care if he was just upset, mom, he insulted my boyfriend and i'm not taking that lying down!"

All plan to enter his own bedroom was negated at the mention of him, and Marco silently slipped out again. Maybe it's best if he leave, he really shouldn't be getting involved in this. He didn't get too far beyond a feet away from his bedroom, when he heard Ace again.

"I'm not being childish, dad is! I don't care what he has to say, i'm not going to just roll over just because he wanted me to!" He paused briefly, and distinctly Marco can hear Rouge's voice over the phone, a distinct murmurs that sounded frustrated even to his ear, "No, i'm not going to apologize! Dad's fucking selfish, he always is!"

Across the phone, Rouge's voice raised an octave, and Ace's quiet murmur told Marco that he was probably chided for his language use. He smiled a little at the thought, at least until Ace's voice was heard again from inside the bedroom, "I just, i'm tired, okay? I'm tired of tip-toeing over this issue, like that's the biggest problem dad has when it comes to me. I'm going to be 22 in a few months, mom, i'm an adult and i can make my own decisions, including who i date. Why can't he accept that?"

Again, Rouge's distinct murmuring rumbles from Ace's phone, sounding much more patient and calm than she was before. Ace sighed, "Well, he have to. I'm sick of having to choose between dad and Marco all the time, or hiding Marco from him like he doesn't exist, just to protect dad's ego. I made plenty of efforts for him, mom, even Marco was more tolerant about him, why can't Dad? The least he can do for me is accept the guy that i'm in love with,"

He waited for the younger to finish his call with his mother, hearing them exchanging quiet goodbyes before there's a dull thump, probably Ace throwing his phone to the bed. After a few seconds of silence, there's a muffled sob from inside of the room, "Stupid dad," Marco felt his chest tugged at the sound alone, "He always does this,"

A few sobs later, Ace took in a shuddering breath, and Marco could hear him shuffling about in the bedroom again. He crept back towards the front door's direction, and with a sigh, opened the door and purposefully slammed it close loud enough, "Hey, i'm back," he called out, taking his time to perfect the act of having just come home, "Ace, you ready to go?"

"Coming!" he heard after a few seconds, hearing the telltale crack on his voice. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought that Ace was coming down with something. As the younger ran out of the bedroom with an admittedly watery smile and still shining eyes, Marco busied himself with his shoes, pretending to choose a more comfortable one to swap his formal ones.

The blonde noted Ace's red rimmed eyes when he was close enough, and pulled the hoodie of Ace's jacket up - his jacket, the one with Pops' crest - ruffling his head before pressing a kiss to his forehead. He pretended not to notice when Ace snuggled closer and discreetly wiped his eyes against Marco's shirt collar, "I like you in this jacket," he said in murmur, allowing the younger more time to collect himself.

"I like it too," Ace replied with a smile, genuine enough that Marco figured it should be enough, "By the way, you never told me what the drawing on the back is. It's so cool,"

He grinned as he opened the door again, ushering the younger to go, "One of these days. I promise,"

* * *

The day of their 6th month anniversary started with Ace waking up way earlier than he is, pushing a sleepy Marco to the showers as he himself bounce around the house like an overly energized rabbit. By the time he was done, Ace was done a long time ago, all packed up and bundled in Pops' jacket, waiting by the front door as as he twirl Marco's car keys in his fingers.

The amount of snacks the bought the day before fits in Marco's old compact gym bag and one of Ace's school bags, though at least half of the food in Ace's bag was gone by the time they were an half an hour to the trip, and there is still another hour and a half to their destination, including the ferry trip. He bought even more in resting area, and Marco emerged from the bathroom to see two extra plastic bags in his car.

"I got extra hungry during long trips," Ace offered sheepishly as an explanation, as the eyes of the disbelieving shop attendant followed his every move. He rummaged around Marco's bag to pull out an extra large trash bag, "But don't worry! I won't make a mess in your car and throw wrappers anywhere,"

Marco glanced at the amount of poorly hidden crumbs on the passenger seat, "Thank god for small blessings,"

Everything looks perfect and according to plan, with both of them enjoying themselves and the company of each other.

It would be, but Marco wasn't blind of the times Ace would discreetly check his phone with a solemn face, as if waiting for something.

He hadn't told Ace of their destination just yet, keeping his answers vague whenever he was asked. The questioning finally ends at the end of the drive, arriving in as crowded harbour filled with people transporting to and from their respective destinations. Ace had been beyond confused as they made their way in, curiously staring at the announcement board on top of the reception desk while Marco took the chance to trade his electronic ticket for the boarding pass and the physical bands in the nearby locket.

He hid both in his pocket, making his way back to Ace, "Are we going somewhere far?" the question greeted him upon his return, "Oh, it's the sightseeing ferry tour, isn't it? Haha, i get it, we met on a cruise, so our 6th month anniversary would also be on a boat. Pretty clever," That actually wasn't the idea at all, but Ace looks so damn proud he managed to crack Marco's 'plan'. Stifling his laughter, he had to wonder if Ace actually remembered his own request to go weeks ago, but decided that it's probably best if he really didn't remember, if only that it'll make for a much sweeter reveal.

But that correlation between their first meeting and a celebration seems like a good idea, Marco will have to keep it in mind and use it one day. Maybe he'll do it for their first year anniversary.

Or maybe for when he finally had the guts to take out that receipt he hid so deep in his drawer, with an item he had to pick up in a couple of days…

They didn't have to wait long before the boat docked and they were called on board, and it was with great relief that Marco saw that a VIP entrance to the ship was also covered by Foxy's pass. He glanced over to the crowd that began to queue behind him, and shuddered. That explains why the tickets has been sold out for months. The trip from the harbour supposedly took an hour, and he spent the time letting Ace lean against him as he tried to finish the enormous amount of food he brought with him. By his 18th pack of chips, Marco saw little children staring openly at his boyfriend, gazing in awe at the amount of food he ate.

It was during this moment that his phone beeps, alerting him of a new message. Marco frowned, recognizing it as one specially assigned to Thatch's number.

 _So uh, you'know how you're my favorite brother? Well, you are. Like the best brother in the world_

 _Can i borrow 300 berries?_

Marco rolled his eyes.

 _Why?_

The reply came quick. He glanced at the clock on his screen and noted that it wasn't anywhere close to break time. And Thatch said they're all responsible adults who can be left to their own devices.

 _I lost a bet to Izou. Everyone did._

 _Izou was the only one who betted on Roger's temper suddenly doing a 180 this month. Most of us had hoped we'll have another month of a happy boss_

At this, Marco frowned harder. Next to him, Ace noticed his silence, "What's wrong?"

 _I thought he's not going to be in today to go out with his wife and son._

"Nothing, just my brother bothering me about office gossip, as usual,"

 _Idk what happened, Izou is still looking for intel. But he came in this morning angry as a bull, and he did his work faster than anything i've seen. Now he's just been sitting in his office for the past 30 minutes staring at nothing._

 _Oh, now he's scratching his head. This is creeping me out, man._

A tug on his arm turned his attention away from Thatch's messages, and Marco turned to see that Ace had pulled his own phone out. On the screen was an image reflecting what the phone's front camera caught; Ace with his tongue poking out, and half of Marco's side profile, his shoulder pillowing Ace's head. Marco turning caused his own face to be blurred and out of focus in the picture, Ace complained, but nevertheless still kept in his phone because 'at least he looks good'.

Marco laughed at his antics, and lets Ace tries to take another picture when his phone vibrates again, taking his attention away.

 _He's now pacing in his office._

 _Oh, he's sitting down again._

There's a light peck on his cheek, one that startled Marco out of reading the last text. Ace giggled, showing him his phone screen with the result of his latest picture. Marco was blurred beyond recognition, though he was barely even on the screen beyond an ear and the sight of a sliver of flesh that Ace kissed. He playfully kissed the younger's temple repeatedly as a retaliation, and a rather blurred picture of a laughing Ace was accidentally caught on his own phone.

"Aw, i look stupid, i can't post this,"

Marco wanted to reply that he looks cute either way, when his phone vibrates again.

 _Update: Sitting down and slamming his head on the table._

 _Repeatedly._

He groaned.

 _Thatch, i don't need a blow by blow report of what Roger is up to today, i'm on leave._

 _Plus, you're disrupting my date_

Thatch's reply was quick and as petty as he expected it to be.

 _If we suffer, you'll suffer with us_

He wanted to threaten by saying he could just turn his phone off anytime - not that he would, he still needs to be on alert should anything happens in the office - but was again distracted by Ace, this time by the younger asking him where the sights are. They hadn't encountered anything panoramic so far, only the sight of blue waters and scattered peninsula.

Thinking that they're close enough, Marco finally took out the arm bands from his pocket and showed them to Ace. He let the raven haired male read the name on the side and let it sink in, watching as Ace's eyes grew bigger with astonishment and joy.

"Thank you, thank, you, thank you!" squealing happily, Ace enveloped him in a tight hug, before drawing him into a long kiss. Marco happily accepted this, only reluctantly pulling away when he remembered the amount of impressionable children around them, and the percentage of those children that were still staring at Ace and his insane amount of snacks, "Oh my god, you're the best!"

Marco lets Ace celebrate a little longer before putting the band around their wrist, and couldn't help but smile when Ace began snapping picture of the armband and sent them through as a text. The name on the top told Marco that it was Sabo he was terrorising with the copious amount of pictures and bizarrely happy texts.

His phone beeps again. Repeatedly. Plenty of times. Marco contemplated on turning his phone off.

 _Holy crap you won't believe this_

 _So Haruta figured it out through twitter. You know how Roger is supposed to take his wife and kid? Well, turns out the kid is with the boyfriend right now, and he posted all of these disgustingly cute pics of them together._

 _By the way, the boyfriend? Bald, stubbly. Least from what we can see from up his nape, but unless he got the world's most weird hairstyle, he's most likely bald, like absolutely clean. He was really blurred in the pic but you can just tell in a hair contest, i'm gonna win against him._

 _Izou's been ranting about how the guy's a cradle robber_

 _Sorry, probably shouldn't tell you that. For the record i don't think you're one at all. even if you're kind of on the same boat with the guy. Totally._

He knew he'd regret having Thatch know about it. At this point, Marco seriously contemplates turning his phone off, office matters be damned. And he's not lending Thatch any money. Not that he will in the first place, anyway, it's his own fault for betting against Izou.

 _Can't help but to think he looks familiar though._

 _Oh well_

 _There was some sappy, lovey-dovey words included, but i know you so i won't bore you with it. Kinda cute though._

 _Like really cute, it almost makes me sad to think that Roger didn't approve of the poor guy_

 _Anyway, Izou, and by Izou i mean really the entire office, listened in on Roger's call a while ago. His wife is mighty pissed at him, and Roger was shouting something about how his 'wife and son is making an enemy out of him for some guy'. The wife's reply? Priceless. Like really, Mrs. Gol can scream like a banshee, cowering even the great Roger Gol. By the end of the call, he just said 'yes, dear' repeatedly and its hilarious. I'll feel sorry for him if i wasn't too busy laughing._

 _But that, and the son's twitter? He must've finally blown out about the boyfriend. Remember what he told us? How much you wanna bet he finally stopped pretending not to ca_

 _Sorry he just pass by, he looked so dejected_

 _Man, i feel sorry for him._

And Marco too, by the end of the text, when Thatch sent him a discreetly taken picture of a slumped over Roger passing by his cubicle. He looks so sad that even his moustache looks limp, and the crying emoticon Thatch sent along with the picture did not help.

Speaking of sadness…

He quietly glanced to his side, noticing the sudden lack of movement. Ace was still leaning against him, but instead of Sabo's text screen, Ace's phone was now fixed on the main screen - the background was a picture of him he didn't even know existed, but then again, it did look like it was taken in secret - which he did nothing but flick through it. The younger's thumb would sometimes hover over the phone application, before hesitantly moving again.

Marco sighed internally.

"Sorry about that," he finally said, looping an arm loosely around Ace's waist, "He just won't stop texting. Have you thought about which ride you're going to try later?"

When Ace turned to him, all sign of his previously dour expression disappeared and was replaced by a smile, "Of course i have! This is all i've been talking about with Luffy and Sabo, but none of us ever got the chance to go! Luffy was sooo jealous when i told him!"

Marco let Ace babbled about his ride plans the rest of the way, revelling the display of childish excitement in hope that it'll be enough to chase away any grey clouds on top of their heads.

He has to. It's their day, after all.

* * *

The last time he had been to any amusement park had been the city fair well over 20 years ago, when Pops first adopted him, the very first of his children and was still unsure on how to handle kids in general. He brought a then toddler Marco there, thinking that it was something all children would like, yet as it turns out, the boy he took in was painfully shy and anxious in large crowds. Marco remembered screaming and crying his eyes out when a clown approached to offer him some balloon, making Pops panic and nearly punch the poor clown for scaring his child.

Pops got better later on, when he started getting used to the idea of being a father and took more and more children under his wings, but it was a well kept secret between just the two of them that his first few years as a parent had been full of blunders and misguided attempts.

Well, _formerly_ just the two of them. He told of this story to Ace while waiting in line for a roller coaster - even with the VIP pass, there is still quite some line, albeit not the 1.5 hours waiting line in the normal queue - when the younger asked about the last time Marco had been to an amusement park.

"He came from a really old family, said to be dating back to the ages of pirates," he continued once they got off the roller coaster and finally shook the shakiness out of his legs. Those things do _not_ play around with the intensity, "The crest on that jacket you're wearing was the jolly roger of that ancestor, something he was quite proud off. He never had his own blood children because he never married, so as a show of solidarity, all of his adopted children have these jackets with the _Whitebeard_ crest made when we were kids. When we got old enough, we tattooed it on ourselves,"

Ace glanced down to Marco's chest, where his own tattoo lies, hidden well under his shirt, "Whoa, that's really cool. How many other children does he have?"

"15, including myself. We got adopted in different stages of life, for example, he took me in when i was about 5 or 6, and Jozu was in his teenage years when Pops met him next," he started counting them with his fingers, older memories blurred at best but he could still remember the newer ones, "Some of the others were older children, like Blenheim and Fossa, who were nearly 18 then, but somehow Pops still managed to be their legal guardian. The youngest one of us when adopted was Namur, who was still a baby then, with Haruta next, being about a year or two,"

"And i thought growing up with Luffy was rowdy. 15 brothers, how the hell did you manage that?"

"With plenty of patience and enough willpower not to feed them to Stefan, Pops dog,"

He didn't know how did the conversation becomes about his family, but Marco spent the next several waiting lines and lunch talking about various anecdotes about Pops and his brothers, and stories from his childhood to Ace. The stories started off small and innocent, like the first time he had to share his bedroom with 4 others until Pops got enough money to move out to his current mansion, yet the more Ace asked, the more he shared even the more juvenile years.

Ace ended up choking at his story about his early high school years, including something from their camping trip, dragging a sleeping Thatch off in his sleeping bag and rolling it down a shallow hill as a retaliation from an earlier prank.

They had ridden virtually every ride there is, even down to the kiddie selection, which had them standing in line with nothing but children only as tall as Marco's thighs, tasted every food offered, seen all the shows available except the late night one.

Now, all that is left is the giant ferris wheel in the very centre of the park, standing tall and proud, and moving extremely slowly. Not that Marco minded, it was the perfect winding down from all of the excitement of the day, and the private carts means more private time with Ace, without any prying eyes. No wonder there were no one else but couples along the queues.

And it was the perfect time too; the sun has just about to set in the horizon, telling them that they had spent quite some time in this amusement park, and the sight of the sky gradient was clear the higher they got. The lights all around the park was starting to flicker to life, shining an iridescent glow along the area below them. They had been admiring this view together, sitting side by side, knees pressing against each other's when Ace started speaking.

"You know, listening about your family makes me want to meet them, they seems like a really nice bunch," the raven haired male mused, smiling lightly. Then, as if realizing what he just said, Ace started to stammer, and Marco watched as flush grew on his face as he began flailing, "N-not that i'm trying to hint on anything, i mean they sound nice, 's all, and you sound like you're really fond of them. But y-you know, you've met my mom and my friends, and i just haven't met yours so i kind of want to..," Ace's volume lowered to the point of inaudibility by each word, lowering his head as if trying to hide his face away from Marco.

And it was such an earnest display that Marco couldn't help but chuckle and reach over, placing his hand on top of Ace's in between them, "I would really like it for you to meet my family too. In fact, Pops' been chasing after me to introduce you two soon," he told the younger man, "No pressure, of course. Meeting the parents are usually… intimidating,"

He'd know, he's been dreading over Rouge's call about _that_ for days now, regardless the answer.

Ace brightens at his respond, returning his hand's hold, "Are you kidding me, i'd love to meet your family! They sounds awesome and," he ducked his head down again, the reddening on his cheeks somehow deepening, "Introducing each other to our families makes it feels so… official. It's like saying that beyond being together, we'll also be part of each other's family, then later on, it'll be with…,"

If there is a shade of red darker than Ace's face right now, then Marco has yet to see it, "I… Ugh, this is all your fault! What you said last month kept playing over and over in my mind and now i kept thinking about it! Talking about moving in not being enough and m-making me y-you—" using his his free hand, the raven haired male used it to cover his face, as if it would magically make his deep blush disappear, "It's so embarrassing and cheesy, how is it that you can say all of that while staring at me directly in the eyes?"

Only the knowledge of them being in public - even if it was a private cart of a ferris wheel - and a tremendous self-control that stops Marco from doing something he'd regret, like pulling Ace to his lap to ravish him. He had witnessed over and over how insanely adorable his boyfriend is, but nothing beats this moment, with his fiery accusation contradicting his large and happy smile, the deep flushes on his cheeks and how this usually energetic creature peeks at him demurely from behind his dark fallen tresses, simply unaware just how good and tempting he looks.

Sometimes Marco thinks the word 'fall in love' doesn't fit him, not when he felt like he's been flung into a deep abyss of bliss with no end in sight.

So he had no idea how is it that he could feel all of that, having so much desire, and yet could still limit himself to caressing the back of Ace's hand with his thumb, and joked, "Probably the alcohol,"

Ace pinched his hand playfully, "How can i forget? I've had all of them on my lap, after all," he said, laughing as Marco's smile turned sheepish at the reminder, "But everything you said, it really made me really happy. It made me realize that i've never had a relationship that meant so much for me before, one that made me want to try harder and be better, and that i," a little of his previous blush return, his grin turned shy as he turned to face Marco fully, "that i've never loved someone else before, not as much as i love you,"

Marco is dead, he's sure of it. His heart had stopped, this is heaven, and the very same angel in front of him is the one that killed him. Died of heart attack due to cuteness proximity, what a way to go. Thatch must be laughing his ass off in his funeral, and Pops will be pouring his best drink on top of his gravestone. Rouge would probably cry for her not-yet-son-in-law but she'd also be proud that her boy can kill a man just by confessing his love in such a tragically innocent way.

Just to make sure, the blonde placed a hand on top of his chest.

"What are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing," There's still some pulse there. A little fast, a lot fast, actually, but it's there. He lifted Ace's hand from the seat, cradling it gently as he brought it up and pressed the curled fingers against his lips. If the position made him kiss Ace's ring finger dead centre, well, that was just a coincidence. Sort of, "And now, i'm the one who is beyond elated to hear all of that. You are really precious to me too, Ace, hearing you say that means the world to me,"

"There you go again, being cheesy. You just like embarrassing me, aren't you?" despite his words, Ace allowed him to keep holding his hand for a little longer, even flexing the fingers every so often to brush against Marco's jaw with his nails.

Marco smiled behind his hand, "Maybe,"

Ace flicked his nose with his pointer, "Meanie," he giggled lightly, leaning his upper body just enough to put his head on Marco's shoulder, "My meanie, though. Oh well, this is the practically the best day of my life, so you get a free pass, just for today,"

"I'll be sure to use it to my full advantage,"

His nose was flicked again, and this time he joined in on the laughter. Ace sighed, "I mean it, Marco. Thank you so much for today," the offending finger that flicked him started tracing lines on his skin, scraping slightly. It tickled, but Marco does nothing to stop it, "And it wasn't just that you brought me to a place i've always wanted to go to, because i would've been fine with anything as long as we get to spend time together. But you made me laugh, you made me smile, you made me the happiest i've been in these last 6 months,"

The finger lingered on his lower lips, then left to gently pushed against his cheek, prompting Marco to turn and look at Ace. He looked down to sincere eyes, shining with unshed tears, before burying his face against the elder's neck. He murmured, softly, "I just wish that one day, he'd understand that,"

Even if Marco had not been the unwitting spectator of the blowout yesterday, it still wouldn't take him long to understand what, or rather who Ace was talking about. He remembered Ace's muffled sob, the poorly wiped away tears and the redness of his eyes, and thought that such reminder has no place for a day like today, not when they both just had the time of their lives.

That problem will still be there when they return back to Raftel, right now, this is their time.

All hesitation forgotten, Marco leaned down and captured Ace's lips, running a hand through black locks to angle them correctly. Ace returned his gesture passionately, biting his lips and grasping the sides of his head.

They've kissed plenty and plenty of times, but illuminated by the sun's last shine for the day as the moon took over in the sky, bodies pressing closely and intimately with only clothes as their barrier, on the very top of a ferries wheel with the distant sound of revelries seemingly as far away and the real world even further away from them, It all seems too perfect to be real.

And yet it is.

Ace moans, gently whispering 'i love you', and Marco knew that no matter what happened, this is a moment he'd treasure for _ages_.

Despite the overwhelming creepy aura, Marco braved facing Mr. Tesoro again, because the man's work is a stuff of legends.

The ring and the gem had been newly polished, glinting bright even in the dimmest light, and as his assistant, Baccarat pointed out to Marco, the inscription inside of the ring was a work of art on itself. The box it came with was a light shade of vermillion - Baccarat had rebuffed Marco when he called it 'red', like a normal person would - small and unassuming, aside from the decorative white bow it came with, and it fits perfectly with the Orange Sapphire - he thought that sapphire only comes in blue, but Baccarat had looked at him with such offense since the box incident that Marco apologized to her for simply thinking it - gem on top of the ring.

Marco was still staring at it that night, during his nightly call with a sleepy Ace. He hid it in the depth of his lowest drawer as they bid each other good night, and fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Marco hadn't expected this.

Well, he had. He just repeatedly told himself not to give up hope yet, because who knows, maybe things will actually work on his favour for once.

It didn't. He knows this from the moment he answered Rouge's long awaited call, when he heard the underlying somber tone in her voice, and it became depressingly clear to him when he walked into the cafe they agreed on, and found her smiling apologetically at him.

"He was still quite…receptive to the idea of meeting you the first time i mentioned it, the night after our dinner. He didn't outright say it, but i know my husband," The red haired woman said, swirling her cup of tea gently between dainty fingers, "But recently, he and Ace had a falling out and, well,"

Marco remembered the conversation he had accidentally overheard in his own bedroom, and it wasn't hard to connect said falling out with that particularly angry phone call. He simply nodded, head moving numbly.

Rouge bit her peach-coloured lips, glossy from some sort of lip balm, "They're both at fault, really. My husband is a sweet man, but when he's angry, he never thinks before he speaks. And, Ace, oh, he's the worst when it comes to controlling his fiery temperaments and see reason. You can see how they both can clash," she gave Marco a sad smile, and the blonde returned it empathetically. Right, Rouge must've felt worse than he does at the moment, to see her husband and child like this, when they've only recently get along.

Because of him.

"I'm sorry, Marco,"

"No, i should be the one apologizing,"

At this, Rouge frowned. Marco gave a dejected sigh, halfheartedly stirring his own cup of coffee, "I might have overheard your phone call with Ace a couple of days ago, about the fight he had with his father. I know i was the reason they were fighting," and the reason why Ace had been distracted and distant lately, trying a little too hard to show that he was alright even though Marco knew he wasn't, "So i'm sorry, both for listening in, and for causing them to fight—Oww! Ow ! Ow!"

Turns out those manicured nails weren't just pretty, they were quite sharp, as Marco can feel quite clearly when Rouge suddenly shot her hand forward and pinched his nose. Hard.

"Now, you listen here, young man," Ace's mother admonished, ignoring the looks they're starting to garner from around the cafe, "You're currently my favorite out of the three important boys in my life, because you're the only one i'm not angry with at the moment. But if you keep saying that and blaming yourself, then i will be angry with you too, and you won't like it if i'm angry," To emphasis her point, Rouge clamped her thumb and pointer tighter and twisted, "Understand?"

Marco nodded frantically - as much as he could without shaking her hands off - and was released with a flick on his surely reddening nose.

Then, as if she hadn't just yanked an adult man by his nose in broad daylight, Rouge tittered elegantly behind her hand, "Aw, i missed doing that. I used to do that a lot to my husband when he's being stupid, and that was how i would scold Ace when he was a boy. Nowadays, they've learned how to dodge it, it's no fun. But now i have a new victim!" There's a glint on her eyes when she said that, part mischievous and amused.

In the midst of massaging his poor nose - those nail indents are _deep -_ Marco peered from behind his hand, giving Rouge an incredulous stare, _"_ …Sorry?"

Rouge looked pleased, "Apology accepted," she placed both of her arms over the table, leaning over on her elbows, "You know, if you hadn't come to me first, i would've asked you to come and meet my husband instead. He's so hard headed, but i know he'll understand what i meant when he meets you in person. You have this sort of… character in a person that he likes,"

"Character?"

"Oh yes, my husband is very good at judging a person's character. It's how he and his best friend came to be, how he choose his current business partner, and lately, he's been talking non-stop about this new manager in his office that he's been contemplating of promoting further once his business partner retires," Rouge sighed, shaking her head, "Which is why it's frustrating for me that he won't even meet you. He usually prefers seeing a person first before judging them, but i guess it's because you're his son's boyfriend that makes this a special case,"

Well, that doesn't sound reassuring at all, "What if i ask him directly, then? Meet him in person?"

"No, no, i'm sorry, Marco, but that's a terrible idea, especially right now," the older woman rejected, tapping her fingers on the table, "He's in a real bad mood right now, couldn't even talk to me without grumbling, that big baby. Of course, there's also the other baby who just won't be the bigger person in this situation," she paused to smile at Marco, "In a way, it was rather sweet. Ace is really, really protective of you, if you can't tell,"

Oh, he can, if that phone call was any indication. Marco ducked his head down when he felt his face heating up, prompting a giggle from Rouge.

They spent the next hour or so talking over unrelated topics, and all the while, Marco silently dwells on the initial news of Ace's father's rejection, and tried not to show too much disappointment in his face. Before they went their separate ways, Rouge pulled him in for a quick hug, "I'm not giving up yet, just so you know," she told him as she pulled back, "Things will work out just fine, i just know it,"

And it was hard to stay pessimistic when those lines were delivered alongside such a bright and assuring smile.

Oh well, he waited for 6 months, he supposed he could wait for another few months until thing died down.

* * *

There was something that Pops used to tell him, about how after every storm, the sunrise would come again. Of course, Pops had said it in a literal sense back then, as he was trying to comfort a sniffling toddler Marco from the brewing storm, but it started to gain a metaphorical meaning as he grew older. Persevering through tough times, because you know there is something wonderful waiting for you after all of this is over.

It's nice and all, and he supposed he had lived long enough to know that there is a smidgen of truth in those words. But sometimes Marco forget just how tiring it is to wait for that metaphorical storm to be over, and he hated to be reminded by them.

Like right now.

Because it has been nearly a month since their 6th month anniversary, and he knows for a fact that Ace hadn't spoken to his father _once_ ever since. He could tell because Rouge had taken to using _Marco_ as a way to get through Ace, when the younger man had decided that his mother's constant calls about his father was getting bothersome and started ignoring some of those calls.

"The nerve of that boy!" she had said during one of her call to Marco indignantly, "I want you to also tell him that he's not too old to be put across my lap and spanked, like the misbehaving little tyke that he is. Either that, or i'm calling his grandfather. He'll know what i mean,"

Evidently, Ace did, because even if he had scoffed at his mother's first threat - albeit looking a little nervous - he had turned significantly paler when Marco mentioned the second. The blonde had never seen anyone reach to their phone that fast, and he could barely catch any word in Ace's rushed 'Okay, okay, okay, i'll stop ignoring your calls just please, no Grandpa Garp, please, don't call Grandpa Garp, mom,"

"This is probably mean for me to say," Marco said after Ace concluded his phone call and gone to sulk in the bedroom alone, giving his phone to Marco as per his mother's instruction, "But if he's that deadly afraid of this grandfather of his, why don't you just use him as a leverage to get Ace to call his father?"

Rouge laughed at his suggestion, "Oh Marco, i would, but i'm afraid that's just not an option. Uncle Garp has a bit of a soft spot for Ace, not that he'd ever tell, and if he found out Ace is angry at his father, well," she giggled, "Lets just say i prefer not to be a widow anytime soon, shall we?"

All of the sudden, Marco gained a sense of foreboding about meeting the rest of the Portgas family member, and wondered if gaining Ace's father's approval is simply winning a single battle instead of the entire war. A paramount war, in which Ace is the prize.

"You told me once that your family is pretty big," he dared to ask that night, laying on his back with Ace's head using his chest as a pillow, "How big is it?"

"Well, big. Like i mean, there's lots of us, but we're not necessarily close to all of them. From Mom's side, closest ones are Grandpa Garp and his son Uncle Dragon, who is Luffy's Dad, and Great Aunt Dadan, who raised Luffy, Sabo and me. I have two more cousins, Makino and Oars Jr., their parents were Mom's distant relative but they died when we were kids so Dadan took them in too and we all grew up together. Great Uncle Jaguar's wife, Olvia, already has a daughter, Robin, before they got married. Robin just got married too recently, so i guess Franky now counts as a family too and his family's even bigger. The last one i can remember from Mom's side of the family was Law's parents but they died a long time ago,"

As Ace recounted casually, he missed the sight of Marco's wide eyes and slowly paling face, "From Dad's side, there's my godfather, Uncle Ray and his wife, there's Grandpa Crocus, and there's Cousin Buggy and Cousin Shanks. He usually had his on and off boyfriend, Mihawk and his best friend Benn with him, not necessarily a family member, but they're always there during family gathering so they might as well be. They're way older than me though, Buggy's weird, but Shanks' pretty cool, i guess. Luffy loves him. Dad has a lot of other family member, actually, but most of them were pretty shady, like his step-brother Shiki, who's a major creep. Oh, and then there's this guy, Marshall Teach, Dad's first cousin but we don't talk about him, ever,"

"Why?"

Ace was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke, he sounded a little unsure of himself, "I don't really know, but i think Uncle Shanks once said that he tried to kill me i was a baby, and he got this big scar on his eye because he was protecting me. Then Dad and Mom got really angry at him for telling me that, so i guess he's probably lying?" the raven haired male shrugged, "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious,"

Maybe he should start writing a will. Pops can get his wine collection, Ace can get literally everything else, and Thatch can stay far, far away from his bank account.

* * *

"Cancel any plans for Friday night, even if it's with your little sweetheart. We're going out,"

"No,"

"No 'no's. Everyone in the office is going, and Izou's generous enough to use the winning pool, which he _doesn't win fairly i'm getting my money back, you swindler, you cheated somehow,"_ Thatch shouted aggressively over his shoulder, and it seems that after a month nobody could still forgive Izou for singlehandedly cleaning most of everyone's saving in a single bet. The man, for his part, only seems to preen over the attention, "Anyway, Izou rented us this VIP room in some bar he likes, and we're all going. We're sick and tired of seeing you and Roger somehow simultaneously sulking and polluting the otherwise happy air around here, and we're putting a stop to it in the only way we know how,"

Marco sent a surreptitious glance at the office beyond his own, with its door closed - locked, the smart man - and blinds pulled down. Roger had been stomping around the office for the past month in bad mood, ranging from angry to just plain sadness and melancholy in the oddest places possible. There were even times he would slip into Marco's office during break time to only sit on the chair in front of his own, twiddling with his finger. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then he'd open his mouth and shook his head. Marco usually left him to his own devices.

"Shakky's Bar, 7pm. No, never mind, you don't get to go home first, you're carpooling with me so i can make sure you won't run away. Even Pops is coming and he'll be taking care of Roger," Thatch said after a series of 'yes, no' back and forth match, which he won - how is it that even after nearly 30 years Marco still fell for the 'double no' trick, all from the same person - and left with an exaggerated suspicious frown and pointing. Sometimes, Marco just doesn't understand why he choose that particular brother to be his best friend when they're such an opposite of each other.

But before he can even shake off the irritation, his door was opened again, and the blonde was ready to throw his pen to the face of the new intruder. He had work to do, since nobody else seems to be doing their job around here, and he could not afford constant interruption like this.

And he would've too, if the face peeking from behind his door hadn't been a familiar moustached face, and Pops' friend or not, Marco wasn't ready to be fired over assaulting his boss anytime soon.

"They roped you in too, huh?" Roger said desolately, approaching the only chair across of Marco's desk. There are dark circles around his eyes, and even his bushy moustache wasn't able to hide the downturn of his lips, "Ol' Eddy got me. Something about a feeble old man's request, feh, that bastard'll outlive me no matter how old he is,"

"And yet you're still going,"

"He's a guilt-tripper, alright? He got 15 kids, he's got more than enough training for it," the raven haired man deflated, sinking on the seat. Marco puts his pen down. He's not getting any work done, not when Roger's finally talkative, "I'm tired of the going ons in my personal life, who knows, maybe this'll be good for me to go out once in a while. Haven't drank with Eddy for a while, and Shakky's Bar means Rayleigh's most likely gonna be there, so hey, maybe i'd finally be surrounded by allies,"

"Allies?"

"Yeah, against that goddamn bastard that warped my son's mind against me. Now he's even taken my wife! My wife, Marco! She said that i was wrong and i'm a hardheaded fool! My own wife!"

Ah, the infamous boyfriend then, "What other crime has he committed this time?"

Roger doesn't seems to appreciate his ill-timed dry humour, based on the glare leveled at him, "What hasn't he done? Turning my wife and son against me, that's what he does, the little snake. I wanted to only spend time with my son and wife, but nooo, that guy had to go and stole my son's time away from me!" he cocked his head slightly, a sour look on his face, "Imagine that, putting a date with that boyfriend of his as more important than spending time with family, do you see why i said this man is not a good influence on him?"

Then Roger paused, and grinned, "Speaking of, heard it was your anniversary recently. Now why didn't you tell me that that was what the leave was for? I would've gotten you something nicer than this," he reached down to his pocket, pulling out two small pieces of keychains and placing them on Marco's hand. They are both quite similar; a platinum keychain with a tag that said 'i love you' and a heart in a cursive engraving, though one held a key pendant next to the tag and the other a small lock, "Don't youngsters like those kind of cute couple things? I thought your boyfriend might like it,"

Ace was more a fan of the 'steal my boyfriend stuff constantly rather than using my own stuff' variety of couple things, but he'd undoubtedly would like this too, "Thank you. I'll be sure to give this to him later,"

"No worries, least i can do for a friend," Roger chuckled, then crossed his arms, "Well, there's something else, but i need a couple of drinks in me first before i can get to it. What about you, my son? What's troubling you?"

Marco quirked his brow, " _Your_ son?"

"What, only Ol' Eddy gets to call you that? Come on, my own kid is not talking to me again, can't i adopt you temporarily? I'd take Thatch but he's a bit too exuberant for my taste,"

"I think state law said i can only be adopted by one person,"

"I'll share joint custody with Ol' Eddy, he gets Mondays to Wednesdays, i get Thursdays to Saturdays and then on Sundays we can all go out for ice cream,"

"I have lactose intolerance, and i'm pretty sure i've been in my own custody since i turn 18,"

Roger pouted, an honest to god pout, "You're no fun,"

"Yeah, Pops said the same thing, and between the two of you, someone has to be,"

They both chuckled in amusement at the casual, if rather bizarre turn this conversation become. As the laughter died down, Roger leaned in, raising his brows questioningly. Marco pursed his lips, and spoke, "I found out that my boyfriend is fighting with his dad, and it's all because of me," the blonde sighed wearily, slumping on his seat.

Whatever amusement still left on Roger's face immediately disappears, as he shook his head in grievance, "Goddamn,"

"Oh, it gets better. Apparently whatever it is that caused that fight ended up costing whatever good graces i have left with my boyfriend's father, and now he won't even see me. Instead, he insulted me, causing my boyfriend stopped talking to him, and it's just," he motioned with his hand, trying to find the correct word to convey his feelings, " _incredibly depressing_ to know that you single handedly killed a burgeoning relationship between a father and a son, especially when the son is the man you love and the father is someone you're trying to get an approval from,"

Marco snorted, lips smiling with no humour, "And you know the best thing about all of this?" he told Roger, "It all happened the day before our anniversary,"

Roger made an affronted noise from his throat, as if it personally offended him, "My god," he shook his head, "What a downright bastard, ruining a happy celebration like that. Anniversaries and celebrations are special! Why, every year i made sure to do something really special for my wife,"

Well, it's not exactly ruined, they still had a fun time together, but Marco didn't feel like mentioning it, "Didn't you miss it this year though?"

Oops, wrong thing to say. Roger's face darkened for a moment, "Yes, well, i made it up to her afterwards. But it won't happen again," he said firmly, before exhaling with his lips pursed tight, "Still, poor lad. Things just hasn't been going your way lately, has it?"

Marco shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

With one last sigh, Roger clapped his hand, "Well, let's just hope that we can soon put this entire matter behind us. But, uh, judging by everyone's reaction, i guess we've been letting our personal matters interfere with our work too much, huh?" the older man said with a little laugh, turning around in his seat towards the glass window. Marco watched in exasperation as everyone who had been openly staring at his office - so, everyone - immediately jumped right back to work, or tries to make themselves look busy.

He could see Doma reading his report upside down, and Blenheim trying hard not to show pain from when he accidentally bumped his head against the walls of his cubicle.

"Yeah, ours and everyone else's,"

* * *

Reaching up to his apartment floor, there wasn't much in Marco's mind other than maybe making a light meal for himself, call Ace and then turning in early. He wasn't really in the mood for anything right now, other than being left alone and hoping that maybe he'd feel less shitty tomorrow morning.

He was just in the process of unlocking his front door when suddenly, the very same door was pulled open and the sight of white painted wood was replaced by a familiar fluffed jacket and a pair of arms that shot out and grab a hold of him. Surprised, Marco nearly fell over, if he wasn't quick enough to hold onto the doorframe and support the sudden weight in front of him, "Ace!" it wasn't hard to guess just who it was, considering there's only one other person who owned a key to his place, "What are you doing here?"

The younger man giggled against his shoulder, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, "To see you, dummy! Sorry i came without calling first, but i finally did it!"

"Did what?"

Ace did not reply, merely pulling him into the apartment. Marco could not help but to laugh at this cute display of excitement, and he began to understand why once he was lead to his own kitchen area, and saw a plate laid out on the dining table, with a half of a chocolate cake not unlike the one he had seen over a month ago, "Ta-da! Perfectly made cake, with the approval of the biggest glutton in this side of the ocean,"

"Where'd the other half go?"

"Yeah, that's Luffy's sign of approval, basically. Would've gotten the rest of it too if i hadn't saved it from him,"

"Oh, i thought you were talking about yourself,"

Ace pinched his side in mock outrage, "Hmph, see if i'll ever do anything nice for you ever again," he sniffed, making his way to the kitchen table, where Marco finally caught the sight of a lone plastic bag, "I even bought you dinner and everything,"

While Ace made his way back to the dining table, the savoury smell of food wafted from the plastic bag in his hand, and Marco nearly drooled. He had skipped lunch today and barely had any breakfast, so compared to his lazily made dinner idea, this is a lot more appealing. The blonde wrapped an arm around Ace's waist when the younger walked close enough, pressing a kiss to his temple, "Thank you,"

The indignant looked dropped in an instant, "Why don't you wash up, i'll prepare dinner and dessert,"

Marco hummed lazily to Ace's quick peck on his cheek, and left for his bedroom.

Well, well, it hadn't been a good day, but his night is looking a lot better already.

By the time he was done showering and changing, the blonde could hear his stomach rumbling at the smell coming from the kitchen. He guessed that it was loud enough to be heard outside, because Ace looked up as he walked in, suppressing a laughter by biting his lower lips, "And you're calling me the glutton,"

"We've been spending too much time together, your appetite is contagious," Marco said jokingly, glancing at the numerous take away boxes on the table and the two neatly cut cake pieces. Ace had gone so far to go to his favorite restaurant, it seems, judging by the label on the boxes, and he could hear his stomach growling again, "Shut up," he groused when Ace couldn't hold his laughter back anymore, "I barely ate today,"

Sitting down and pulling one of the boxes to him - his favorite, which means this one is for him and the rest is Ace's - Marco ignored the younger's snickering.

During dinner they talked about nothing and everything, revelling in each other's presence more than actively trying to make a decent conversation. Once dinner - dinners, in Ace's case - was done, they dug into dessert. And what a dessert it was; the cake was moist and rich, sweet but not too much, and Marco will admit, Ace had outdone himself.

Though as delicious as it was, he preferred his second dessert that night, when the raven haired male climbed onto his lap, a dollop of chocolate frosting on his finger to smear across Marco's lips, "Just returning the favour," Ace whispered seductively, before leaning down to catch him in a fiery kiss.

"Don't think i have the energy to move anymore," Marco said in between pants nearly an hour later, one arm quivering under his own weight and the other caressing down the naked, trembling thigh wrapped around his waist, "Think you can stay over tonight?"

Ace's eyes were crossed and glazed when he opened them, still seemingly unable to register that he's being asked a question. Marco gave him some time to gather himself, pressing a kiss on sweaty forehead before flopping to his side. The cool sheets was a welcomed contrast against his heated skin, though it didn't take long for them to quickly soak in his perspiration. Disgusted as he is, they have to wait until tomorrow because he is not moving anytime soon.

With one final gasp, Ace turned to his side, his thighs still visibly shaking. Marco took some pride in that, "Yeah. My morning class tomorrow's cancelled,"

Marco nodded, a little relieved, and closed his eyes with his arms loosely around Ace's waist. He felt the younger shifting to move closer, "Good night,"

"Night," Ace replied, murmuring against his chest as Marco began to drift to sleep, "See you in the morning,"

And he did. And the next morning, and the morning after that one.

Marco may be a little dumb, or maybe he's just a little lovesick. Either possibility seems to be correct at this moment.

Because somehow, after the 4th day of Ace staying over at his place, it never really occurred to him that something was wrong until he received a phone call in the middle of office hour - in the middle of meeting, no less - from an unknown number, "I don't know why it didn't even occur to me," said the mysterious caller, who he quickly identified as Sabo, just from the exasperated sigh, "But he's over at your place, isn't he?"

The blonde surreptitiously glanced to the meeting room, where he had Jozu replace him on the weekly presentation for a while, and wondered just how much longer does he have. From Sabo's tone alone, he can tell that he's going to need a while, "Why?"

A long, drawn out sigh made static noises on the phone, "Marco, please do me a favor," the younger blonde told him, voice dripping in irritation, "Tell that little shit you call a boyfriend that while i love him like a brother, if he dare to run away from home and make Auntie Rouge worry like this again, i can and will send Garp after him," there's silence from both sides, broken only by another tired sigh, "Seriously, why do they have to be like this?"

Ace ran away? "What happened?"

"You didn't know?" Marco lets the silence answer for him, "I guess it makes sense, you didn't seem to be the kind of guy who'd support his stupidity like this. Well, long story short, Ace and Uncle got into a fight. Auntie might've tricked him to come home and made them confront each other, which is a bad idea, because Ace stormed off. He came back to our place all angry, packed up a bit and just leave without saying anything. Luffy told me he's in his house after that, but left and no one seen him afterwards. Found his phone in his dresser, guess that's also why we can't reach him," Sabo paused, and made some sort of a smacking sound, "The dresser, by the way? Empty. Completely,"

Marco tried to replay the last few days, wondering if there truly is something amiss that might've tipped it off. He hadn't seen Ace's phone, true - which should be the first odd thing, since Ace always goes everywhere with that phone - and that also explains why he hadn't received his usual text around lunch time per usual. Ace just told him he was in class during those moments, but…

"Is he even going to class?"

"That's another thing. Asked some of his classmates, no one has seen him in campus for the last few days. Mr. Sengoku, his subject supervisor, said he's taking a leave, but promised to submit his assignments and show up for his midterms," Sabo made a humming noise through the phone, a brief change from his grim tone, "I have to admit, for someone like Ace? This is a pretty detailed disappearing scheme,"

"He ended up staying with his boyfriend,"

"Who didn't know any better as it turns out. And i said detailed, not smart. Smarter than me, anyway,"

This time, it was Marco who sighed, leaning back against the door. Glancing back to the meeting room, he met Jozu's eyes, still in the middle of his presentation, but subtly raised 2 fingers to his direction. He nodded, giving the large man a thumbs up, "Look, Sabo, i have to go now, but i promise i'll talk to Ace once i get home, okay?"

The younger man grumbled, "You better. Now i gotta call auntie and reassure her that her son's okay. Tell him everything i said, leave no detail behind, okay?" with that, he disconnected the call. Marco groaned, running his hand through his hair.

God, he's going to hate coming home today.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me you ran away?"

Whatever greeting Ace was about to say died down, his smile disappearing to nothing but a blank stare, before he turned away, "What kind of person tries to go into hiding and announces it to the world?" the younger scoffed, resuming to fold clothes as he had been doing before Marco entered. Well, at least he wasn't playing the fool, Marco will give him that much credit, "I guess it was kind of stupid of me for going here, though. Who was it, Mom? Sabo? Law doesn't really care about this sort of things so it can't be him,"

Marco puts his briefcase away, eyes never leaving Ace's back, with Pops' emblem staring back at him instead of the person he's talking to, "Sabo called me this morning. Said you even left your phone and you emptied out your dresser,"

The last shirt was folded and put away into a pile. Ace simply crossed his arms, still adamantly not looking at him, "Figures, i'm surprised Luffy didn't crack sooner,"

They fell into silence. Marco waited for Ace to offer him explanation, but evidently, the younger was less than forthcoming, in the end, he sighed, "Why? Ace, i would've let you stay anyway, why did you feel like you have to lie to me?"

"I didn't lie to you,"

"Voiding the truth still counts,"

That was enough to finally make Ace face him fully, although Marco didn't know what he did to deserve such menacing glare, "Like you 'voided' the truth about why you and mom had dinner in Baratie? 'Just meeting an old friend' my ass, Sanji was there and he told me everything. Is that what you and mom do now? Meeting behind my back to bad mouth me?"

That weird blonde waiter was listening to their conversation? _That_ particular conversation? "If he told you everything, then you'd know we weren't bad mouthing you,"

"Oh right," Ace widened his eyes in a clear mocking gesture, "What was it that you said? 'I would've asked Ace, but that'll just cause him and his dad to fight again', isn't it? What, so you go to my Mom?" with a frown, he stomped over, pointing a finger over to jab it on Marco's chest, "You're in relationship with me, not her! If there is a problem in this relationship, you talk it out with me, not with my mom!"

"I went to her not because there was problem in our relationship! I wanted to ask her help to talk to your father about meeting me to settle all of this,"

Again, Ace jabbed his chest, hard, "And because of that, suddenly you have to hide it away from me that i have to find that out from someone else? You know what, that doesn't even matter to me," the raven haired male crossed his arms, staring up to Marco with hardened eyes, "Why did you keep that a secret? Why didn't you even talk about it with me first?"

Marco pushed himself off from the doorframe, the direction of this sudden argument suddenly making him feel imbalance, "Because i don't want it to turn into another argument with your dad, i told you this many times. You're still need to fix your relationship with your dad—"

"That! That's my entire problem with you!" Ace suddenly exclaimed, startling Marco to an abrupt stop, "Stop injecting dad to be your reason for everything! Yeah, you want his approval and i'm glad you're someone nice enough to consider that, but that ass doesn't deserve a say after everything he's said and done. I told you, he doesn't control what i do and what's happening in my life should not be based on him!"

Ace's emphasis on his father was spitted out like it's acid, and Marco wondered just how bad did that fight days ago, "Look, Ace—"

"And stop it with the 'fixing your relationship with your dad' bull, okay? I tried, Marco, i fucking tried. I gave him a second chance after he abandoned me for years, i tried to connect with him again, because that's what you, and mom, and literally everyone else in my life told me is the right thing to do. So i did, but now he crossed the line!" He aggressively point to a vague direction, with a look of disdain, "So if you're trying to tell me to apologize to him, safe your breath. I've had it with him,"

With that, Ace shouldered past him, stalking past him. Marco squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, "Ace—"

"I don't want to hear it!" the younger practically screeched, walking even faster away out of the hallways and into the living room, "I had enough with people telling me what to do when it comes to dad. It's none of your business!"

In a sudden and rare display of temper, Marco shouted back in reply, "It is my business the moment you decided to lie to me and use my place to hide from your friends and family!" he marched over to the living room - can't they just do an argument in one single place without moving around? - finding Ace on the sofa, pointedly looking away from him. The moment he entered, Ace turned away even further, pivoting on the sofa to once again, make his back face Marco, "Ace, look at me,"

The younger didn't even heed his words. Deciding that waiting for Ace's stubbornness melt away is just impossible, Marco suppressed a sigh and walked inside, "Fine, you know what, i won't tell you what to do about your dad," at that, the freckled face man glanced back slightly, enough for Marco to see that he's listening, "But Ace, you ran away from your home, turned your phone off, and you made your friends and family worried sick. Because of what, because of a fight with your dad, over me?"

With wide eyes, Ace spun and face him. Marco sighed, "Yeah, since we're getting everything out in the open, i might as well say it, right? I know that you're fighting and not talking with your dad for over a month now and i know it was over something he said about me," he ran his hand through his hair, gripping the end of it for just second to bring him down from his flaring irritation regarding the entire situation, "I heard it all myself, Ace, and this is getting fucking ridiculous,"

Ace's wide eyes turned into a deep glare, and once again, he stood up fully, as if trying to loom over Marco as he angrily spat, "I was defending you from him! How dare you call that ridiculous!"

"No, i'm calling this entire on going fight with you and your dad ridiculous! And this running away thing double the ridiculousness! You think you won't be found out? I'm your boyfriend for god's sake, two of your best friends know you more or less moved in here,"

"So what do you want me to do, actually run away?"

"No, i want you to call your parents and apologize for making them worry over something like this! This isn't just about us, Ace, your mother was worried, your friends, who had nothing to do with any of this was worried!" the blonde leaned forward, and as Ace had done to him, he jabbed a finger to the younger's chest, glaring down to deviant eyes, "Do you know how fucking shocked i was when Sabo called me and said you ran away? He asked around your campus, he had to deal with your mother worrying over not being able to find you, you had your younger brother lied to him! This is beyond childish, Ace, this is plain irresponsible!"

"I wouldn't have to do all of this if Dad hadn't—"

"You want me to stop using your dad as an excuse, i'm flinging that right back at you, stop using your Dad as an excuse for being an idiot! He's the one who wronged you, you don't have to make everyone else suffer because of it!" there's a hitch in Ace's breath, and the look of shock on his face, as if he wasn't expecting Marco to actually be angry at him. Well, Marco is, "Go, and apologize to your mother and Sabo for being an idiot. Stop running away at the first sign of trouble you don't want to deal with,"

The shock was gone, replaced by the grim deviance, "Stop telling me what to do, i'm not a kid!"

"You don't want to be treated like a child, then stop acting like a spoilt brat!"

Anger sometimes made you say things you didn't mean, because your head was too clouded by emotion that you can't think straight. It wasn't like that with Marco, not always. He was thinking clearly throughout the argument, even to every word he said, so much that he knew how cutting some of them could be.

But he was beginning to think that it wasn't the case, when he saw the pitifully surprised look on Ace's face and was suddenly enveloped in immense regret. The younger's lower lips began to quiver, and his breath hitched slightly, slowly looking away from Marco to the floor. His fist on either side of him curled tightly, tugging on the hem of his jacket.

All anger was suddenly washed away from Marco, "I… Ace, i'm sorr—"

He tried to pull Ace in, but was violently rejected with a push to his chest that almost sent him stumbling, "Fuck you, Marco!" Marco heard screamed at him, only catching a blurred outline that is Ace running out of the living room. Moment later, he heard the sound of his bedroom door being slammed close, loud enough that it echoed throughout the apartment for a couple of seconds.

With heavy heart, he trudged over to the bedroom, hearing nothing but rustling sound and muffled sniffs from inside. He could also hear several thuds inside, and sighed tiredly, "Look, Ace, i didn't mean it like that," another thud, Marco bit his lower lips, "Ace? Ace, if you can just let me explain—"

The door was slammed back open. In front of him, Ace was teary eyed, scowling, and there was a large bag slung on his shoulder. Marco distinctly remembered Sabp mentioning that Ace had cleared out all of his dresser, and wondered where exactly had he hid that that Marco could've missed it in his own bedroom. Of course, he didn't have time to actually think about it when Ace suddenly tried to walk away and suddenly it dawned on Marco just what exactly he was about to do, "Wait, Ace,"

When the raven haired male didn't stop, he tried to take a hold on one of his wrist. Ace quickly tried to shook him off, but Marco held on steadfastly, "Ace, wait just listen to me!"

"No!" with a sharp tug, Ace's wrist was gone from Marco's grip, "You want me to go back and apologize? Fine, I'm leaving! I'm leaving and you won't ever have to see me again!"

"Ace—"

"In fact, why don't i just go back to Dad and tell him that he's right? That i'm too young, i'm still naive, and i'm too childish to be trusted to be in a decent relationship because obviously my _own boyfriend thinks so_!"

"That's not what i'm saying, Ace, stop twisting my words!"

His attempt to try and step closer was thwarted yet again with a violent push. Marco stopped trying, as Ace continued, "I tried to balance the two of you in my life, i tried to compromise, not only for dad, but also for you! I don't want to choose between the two of you, but i hate that dad keeps on hating you without knowing you and i hate that you kept on letting that slide like it's no big deal. Because it is a big deal for me, Marco!" Finally, the first tear fell as his voice began to crack at the end of his sentence, "I hate that you're so compliant to some guy who hated you on principal, but apparently, that makes me a 'spoilt brat' isn't it?"

"That's not what i meant, will you just listen to me!"

"No! I've had it! You know what, i can't believe i never realize, but you and dad are the same," They were already on his front door now, and Marco didn't even know when that happened, but he knows that if he let this continue, Ace will walk away, and there is no guarantee he'd ever see him again, " You think you know 'what's best for me' without even putting my feelings into consideration. I'm your boyfriend, someone you should've gone to for what's happening in our relationship, but no, you'd rather go to Mom about it, and let my dad walk all over you, all because you have this idea in your head that somehow you're doing it all for my sake, as if i'd appreciate that kind of self-sacrificing shit!"

Ace opened the door, and Marco knew he should stop him, do anything, move, but his feet wouldn't comply. He just stared, even as Ace stepped out of the door, "I already have one egotistical jerk like that in my life, i don't need two of them," he spat, the effect slightly lessened by the involuntary choke and near sob as he said again, for the final time, "We're through,"

As the door was closed, Marco stood numbly on his own front entrance, staring at the now closed door and unable to register why his face felt cold and wet.


	6. Chapter 6

His quick escape was stopped by a hand gripping his shoulder tightly, and Marco didn't have to turn to know the bright, sleazy grin aimed at him, "Now, where do you think you're going, brother dear? Trying to run away, huh? Hoho, you have to do better than that,"

Thatch slung an arm around his neck, grinning lopsidedly, "Sorry, but you're going, whether you like it or not. Now, what say we—"

"Let me go, i'm not in the mood,"

"Well that's the entire point of tonight, Marco! It's to get you and Roger back in the groove of things—"

"I'm not playing around," Marco shrugged the arm away from his shoulder, side stepping away from Thatch to make his way towards the stairs. the lift was taking too long anyway, "Tell everyone i'm sorry, but i'm not going,"

He didn't even make it far towards the direction of the emergency stair case when Thatch stepped in front of him, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. Marco ducked away, at least, he tried to. Thatch managed to grab a hold of his shoulder, and gave him enough push to reveal his face to the auburn haired man, "Christ, Marco," he gasped softly, "What the hell happened to you?"

Marco didn't need a description on how bad he looked, because he had looked at himself in the mirror this morning. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin pale from throwing up the numerous amount of alcohol he consumed the night before, and even his skin felt clammy since waking up. He also had a massive headache, and wanted nothing more but to sleep it off today.

He's just so, so tired right now.

Again, he tried to shook Thatch's hand off, but his brother was adamant, "Look, i'll let go," Thatch told him, voice low and gentle, "I'll make up some excuse to the guys. Just tell me what the hell happened. You look horrible, Marco,"

There must be something subtly convincing in Thatch's words, probably the promise that he'd be left alone, because despite his reluctance, Marco finally spoke, "We broke up,"

And isn't that the most juvenile reason to look the way he did? He couldn't find it in him to care, not even if Thatch ended up laughing at him. The hold on his shoulder became loose, and Marco slipped away, continuing his journey to the stairs. It didn't last long, when the hand once again find his shoulder, and made him sigh in wariness,

Whispered, because there is a sudden, familiar obstruction in his throat, and he's not trusting his own voice and self-control right now.

And Thatch must've understood, because he pulled Marco away towards the stairs once the distant sound of crowd murmuring began to be heard in the previously empty hall, "I'll tell them that you're not feeling well," the auburn haired man told him, voice in a near whisper, "But at least, let me drive you over to your place,"

"I'm fine, you don't have to babysit me,"

"You not fucking fine. Have you seen yourself, brother, you look like a wreck,"

Like he needed the reminder.

The walk down to the parking lot was long - they were at the near top floor of the building - but while Thatch was secretly winded, Marco was glad for the trip. The long walk did nothing to help his headache, but the energy spent during it helped him concentrate on his exhaustion instead of thinking about what had been plaguing his mind throughout the day and the rest of yesterday.

The parking lot was near empty by the time they arrived - considering they are about 30 minutes later than everyone else - and once they reached Thatch's car, he was pushed into the passenger seat and offer little resistance. Didn't even have enough care to worry about his own car, somewhere in the same area.

As they waited for the car to warm up, he caught Thatch opening and closing his mouth several times, trying to say something yet failing to find the words. The mere thought of Thatch, who would usually ran his mouth faster than his brain could work, struggling with what he'd assume to be comforting words, gave Marco an odd sense of amusement in the midst of his turmoil.

In the end, he drove off without saying anything. The entire ride was filled with silence.

* * *

Somehow, Thatch managed to steal his way up to Marco's apartment, and it wasn't until they entered did he remembered the state in which he left it in.

"Holy shit," was the whispered gasp he heard the moment Thatch entered, and looking at it now, with the all the lights turned on, Marco have to admit he himself was rather surprised.

Nothing had seemed amiss until they entered his living room, in which bottles upon bottles was in clear display, all of them in various state of emptiness, and the deep indent on the sofa easily told Thatch where Marco had slept the night before. His phone was lying near the wall, not quite in pieces but the battery had escaped its confinement, thrown there in a drunken fit after the 20th or so disconnected call. The bedroom was around the same state, with clothes strewn everywhere, a thrown open cupboard door and a tipped over drawer somewhere.

Only the drawer had been his doing.

With a weary sigh, Thatch, who had followed him to the bedroom and had no doubt seen the sorry state it was in, gave him a light push, "Take a shower. I'll clean things up and make something for us to eat,"

"Don't you have a party to go to?"

"You really fucking think i can go when you're like this?" There's clear anger and irritation in Thatch's voice, as if Marco's innocent question had offended him greatly. The scowl melted down as he exhaled, taking a fallen towel from the floor and shoving it to Marco's chest, "They'll understand. Just go and freshen up. You reek,"

His watchful looks followed Marco's every move until he closed the bathroom door behind him, and as soon as Marco turned the shower on, he could hear his adopted brother moving around the bedroom, making a creaking and thudding noises as he goes. He waited until the door to his bedroom was shut close, before leaning fully against the wall in front of him, letting his nose and forehead press against cool tiles.

He couldn't find his usual body wash, and had instead found a different brand with a distinctly familiar scent, one that he know had been deeply ingrained in one side of his bed. Marco felt foolish, contemplating on whether to use it or not, only to end up wondering why it was left here and his own went missing. Logically, he knows it must be an honest mistake. Ace had left in quite a hurry and probably threw it away once he realized his mistake.

But there's a side of him that still hoped he didn't. That insignificant as it is, maybe Ace was still fond enough of him to keep it.

By the time Marco felt collected enough to walk out of the bathroom, his fingers were pruned, there are steam coming off from his skin, and his eyes hurts from repeatedly wiping them away with hot water. He dressed himself, and found that aside from his now neat bedroom, Thatch had also cleared out the numerous bottles in his living room, even fixing his phone and placing it on the table. The sizzling and fresh smell of food led Marco to the kitchen, where he accidentally caught the end tail of a conversation.

"—never seen him like this," Thatch said to the person on the other side of the phone, who Marco would guess was Izou, "I… I can't tell you. It's not my place,"

The pompadoured man was leaning against the table, solemnly staring at an object in front of him that was obscured from Marco's view by his arm. When he raised his head, his brows were pulled to a frown, "Goddamn it, i'm not asking for much, just respect his privacy! You didn't see him, Izou, but i did!" he shouted over the sound from the stove.

Walking closer, Marco could hear the sound of Izou's stammered apology from the phone. He caught a glimpse of a red box inside the curl of Thatch's arm, the same time that Thatch saw him entering. He widened his eyes, "I have to go. I'll see you soon," and with that, he ended the call, frantically shoving his phone to his pocket while trying to subtly pull the box closer to him, as if trying to hide it away from Marco's view.

Before he could, Marco plucked it away from his grasp, catching the look of guilt on Thatch's face and later, the pity. Ah, he must've found it on the table when he was cleaning it, and drew his own conclusion, "Marco, i," the auburn haired male stammered, running a careful hand through his immaculate hairdo, "I… i'm so sorry,"

Marco popped the box open, and found that the ring inside had been pulled out from the small slit where it had been lodged in to the night before, when he had pulled it out from where it was deeply hidden within his drawer after the 5th or 6th bottle. He fixed it back to its appropriate position, lightly caressing the gem in the middle, "It's not like that,"

Thatch looked at him, confused, "What do you mean?"

The blonde gestured to the box in his hand, shutting it close, "It's not why we broke up. He didn't even know this thing existed," he chuckled, his throat feeling like its being cut repeatedly by how hollow it sounded, "Guess now he'll never know,"

He left the kitchen with the ring box in his hand, and Thatch didn't even try to stop him.

* * *

The thing about that fight that devastated him the most was, Marco never saw it coming.

Of all the way he thought their argument could've ended, losing Ace was the last thing he'd even imagine could happen.

But he did.

All over a stupid fucking argument, over what? Him secretly staying to avoid his parents? Over his dad? Over Ace? Over Marco himself?

Marco didn't even know anymore.

How the fuck did everything ended up this way?

So he was wrong with hiding things behind Ace's back, especially about meeting his mother in secret. But he was doing it for a greater good, right? Though things had been progressing well with his father, Marco could tell that his and Ace's relationship was still the biggest landmine on top of every other issue. He's just trying not to be the one to step on it.

And everything about him letting Ace's father step on him, was that really how Ace saw it?

Or was that really what he was doing this entire time, and he never realize it because he was in too deep?

With a weary sigh, Marco popped the box open again, revealing the ring inside. The shimmer was still there, considering that this box was hardly touched, much less opened and exposed to the air since it first arrived home, and he had tried to keep it in a mint condition until he had to give it. He was so sure he will give it away one day, and he knows for sure just who he will give it to.

Marco never accounted fucking things up, somehow.

A thud on the table in front of him broke him off from his musing. Carefully, Thatch placed down two plate side by side, the filled to the brim with food that looks and smell heavenly. Marco wasn't interested in them in the slightest, only noticing that the main ingredient seems to be a numerous amount of ground beef. Right, Ace had bought them several days ago, trying to emulate some sort of exotic recipe taught to him by his cook friend and accidentally told the butcher the wrong quantifier. He ended up going home with bags and bags of meat, muttering about giving some away to his meat-loving brother.

It was that reminder that stopped Marco from reaching for the spoon laid next to the plate, and simply stared.

Thatch sat right next to him, smacking his lips to fill the silence, "I uh, there's a lot of food in the fridge, probably enough to feed all of Pops' kids and more," he finally said, "Hope you don't mind?"

Thatch knew he wasn't the best when it comes to grocery shopping, or even feeding himself. Of course it wouldn't take long for him to figure out that the stocked fridge wasn't Marco's doing. He simply shrugged, lethargically bringing a spoonful to his mouth when Thatch's staring and the silence became too much. It tasted as good as ever, of course - cooking was a hobby to Thatch, but everyone thought it should've been a career choice - but right now, it tasted like ashes.

He took in a couple more, before finally putting down the utensil. Marco barely made a dent his plate.

Next to him, he could hear his brother sigh, but did not comment. It made Marco feel bad - Thatch had gone through all of this trouble, the least he could do is not to seem ungrateful - so he promised quietly to take in a few more bite later, and reached for his phone. The screen was cracked in several different places, but nothing else seems to be broken when he turned it back on.

The first picture that greeted him was of Ace beside the lake in Pops' jacket, his favorite screensaver amongst the others. He promptly placed it back down to the table, screen side down, and sighed heavily.

"That was uh," he heard Thatch spoke, glancing sideways to the phone. The auburn-haired man pursed his lips, not for the first time today ended up struggling with words.

Marco decided to help him, "My boyfriend, yeah,"

Well, ex.

He sighed again, breath hitching.

Thatch shook his head, 'No, i mean, it's pretty clear that's who that was. But the jacket was…," he trailed off, his spoon tapping wetly against his food, "Because i couldn't find it in your bedroom earlier,"

Oh, right. Ace had worn it when he left. Didn't even take it off or anything, "It's his favorite, always put it on every time he stays over. Especially after i told him what the logo meant,"

Guess he should ask for it back one of these days, right? It is, after all, a matching set with his siblings and it was one of their most important memento of Pops and their family.

But like the soap, he wondered if Ace will want to keep it. Because he'd gladly part ways with it if he does.

God, he's so pathetic.

Hesitantly, Thatch opens his mouth again, but whatever it is he was trying to say was halted by the ringing doorbell. They both looked up simultaneously, to the direction of the doorway, where distinct murmurs could be heard, "Are you waiting for someone?" the pompadoured man asked as he stood up, making his way to the front door. He glanced back to Marco when the doorbell rang again, twice, three times. The fourth was cut mid-buzz, and the chattering behind the door became louder.

"No," the blonde answered warily. The door was now knocked in full power, badgered even.

From the sofa, Marco watched as Thatch took cautious steps, peeking from the small hole on the door. Then, like a cut string, the tension left his body with a loud groan, "Seriously?!" he exclaimed in irritation, and Marco couldn't understand the sudden mood shift until his brother opened the door and a body came tumbling in, supported by a long haired man and their father walking inside.

"We are sorry for the intrusion," the long, silver haired man said politely to Thatch, effortlessly pulling up the clumsy body from earlier, who Marco finally identified as Roger, "But Roger wouldn't stop making a fuss in our bar until we agree to take him to 'his poor boy', even demanding to bring over some souvenir,"

Behind him, Pops stood with a crate full of what appears to be assortments of alcoholic drinks, clueing them in to what the 'souvenir' may be, "We would've arrived earlier, but it took us a while to realize that by 'poor boy', he wasn't talking about his kid,"

"He doesn't even want to see me, Eddy!" The drunken man howled, leaning against his silver haired friend dramatically, "But it's cool, i'll just go to the son who _does_ want to see me!"

"Marco's not your son, and he doesn't even know you're coming. Ah, Thatch, dear boy, can you please take this away, lifting these are bad for my back" Edward gave the crate he had effortlessly carried to Thatch, making his son fell with an 'oomph!' under the sheer weight, "Marco, are you alright? Izou said that you're not feeling well, but Thatch hadn't been too forthcoming with the details,"

Marco didn't even have the chance to answer before he was accosted by Roger harshly, somehow having slipped away from the still-nameless man's grip, "Of course he's not alright, Eddy! Can't you see?!" with one hand, he squeezed Marco's face and forcibly making him turn to face the moustached man. The strong smell of alcohol with his every breath was enough to make Marco wince, "Boy look sick as fuck! Even his hair! There's not much left of his hair! And at such a young age!"

"His hair's always like that," Thatch quipped from the floor, still trying to lift the crate of bottles.

"It's the stress, isn't it? Have i been working you too hard? No, that's not it… Oh!" He released Marco's face to slap his own forehead, leaving a stinging pain and red marks on the blonde's cheeks, "Don't tell me, it's the father-in-law, isn't it? What has he done now? If he dared to do anything, i'll take him on, dad to dad, now come on, what is—"

"It's not— It's not like that, not anymore," Maybe he was a little too harsh in pushing Roger away, but Marco was tired, and all of this riffraff is just making him feel worse. Thatch had been tolerable, even welcomed. But a rambunctious crowd is too much for him right now, "It was my fault. He broke it off with me,"

The more he had to repeat that explanation, the more the situation dawned unto him - That Ace is not in his life anymore, Ace ended it with him, he lose that one person he had come to love so much - and the heavier his heart becomes. Marco bowed his head down to hide his quivering lips - he hadn't been such a crybaby since he turned 10 - and missed the expressions aimed towards him.

Thatch immediately abandoned the crate of alcohol to move to his side, patting his back while glaring venomously at Roger. Not that Roger gave him any attention, he was too busy staring wide eyed at Marco, mouth agape and quickly gaining sobriety. On the doorway, Edward had the same expression on, though not as devastated as Roger, and the one stranger alternated between each men around him, frowning.

"I think," the silver haired stranger piped up in the midst of the uncomfortable silence, "It's best if we take this inside. Shall we?"

Marco ended up spilling everything, after a lot of coaxing and, much to Thatch's consternation, half a bottle of strong, throat burning liquor that he grabbed and chugged down the moment Pops puts in on the table. The pompadoured man sent his adopted father disapproving look, but like everyone else, he was quickly distracted once the story began.

"I fucked up," he slurred out for the nth time in the middle of his recounting, "You know what he said? He said his dad and i aren't any different, that we didn't care about his feeling, but i do! I do! I swear i care!" Marco slammed his hand - and the bottle he's holding in said hand - down on the table, then slammed it once again as he continued, "But, why am i the bad guy?! His dad is the fucking asshole who made things difficult!"

"Amen!" Roger lifted a newly opened bottle, toasting to the empty air. Rayleigh, the silver haired man, swiped it away from his hand in trained move, "Aww,"

On the sofa, Edward shook his head at Roger's antics and rubbed a hand down his 'eldest' back, "There, there, you two were fighting, he probably didn't mean it like that. You know how it is,"

"Pops, he walked away and broke it off, what else is it suppose to mean?"

"But here's what i'm confused about," Rayleigh said, taking a drink from the bottle he took from Roger, "Why exactly did the dad disapprove of you? If you said you were trying to meet him, that means he hasn't even met you, right?"

Marco was too busy trying to plant his face even further to the table he had banged his face in to give a reply. Thatch, who was trying to peel him off from the wooden surface, answered for him, "It's not Marco himself that's the problem. His boyfriend's dad just didn't want his son to date, period. I think the guy's too overprotective," then he jutted his chin to Roger's direction, who missed the gesture in favor of scavenging for more drink in the souvenir crate, "Yeah, kinda like that one,"

Rayleigh gave both Marco and Roger a look, chuckling slightly, "Seriously? One's a boyfriend with a father problem, and the other is a father with a boyfriend problem. I'm amazed Roger felt so closely related to this matter, when they're on the different end of a similar situation,"

Edward inhaled and exhaled heftily, "Oh yeah, similar,"

The man's sharp eyes turned to the largest man in the room, "Did you say something, Edward?"

The man didn't reply, but he sent a meaningful gaze to a slumped over Marco, and then towards Roger, who had somehow slipped behind them, still scavenging for something other than empty bottles. Understanding slowly dawned upon Rayleigh, bewilderedly gazing at both men, then back to Edward, "Wait, you mean they…?"

Chugging down a bottle he had somehow hidden away, Edward nodded.

"But they…, wait, so they don't…?"

Edward shook his head, still chugging.

"And you didn't…?"

After a satisfied sigh, Edward laughed thunderously, "Nope,"

Over Marco's shoulder, Thatch looked upon the two older men in confusion, "The hell are you two talking about?"

From behind Rayleigh's seat, Roger stood up triumphantly, swaying a little on his feet, "Yes!" he joyously exclaimed, holding a bottle up above his head before taking plentiful gulps. He hissed pleasantly, cheeks flushed from the amount he had drunk so far tonight, looping an arm around Rayleigh's shoulder, "No, but you know why i care? Because unlike me, that dad is an ass. I'm like this because i care about my son. Marco's boyfriend's dad is just a vindictive bastard,"

Rayleigh burst out laughing almost simultaneously with Edward's guffaws. Roger gave them both an odd look, but decided to continue on, "Like, what did Marco ever do to him? He took care of his son, loves his son, took day off just to celebrate an anniversary with his boy, that man should be grateful," he pointed to himself, his hold on Rayleigh's shoulder slipping slightly due to how much the man was shaking with laughter, "My son in law? That dick made my son sad, he manipulated my son against me, manipulate my wife against me, and now my son won't talk to me because he chose his boyfriend over me. I loathe the guy and i have the rights to,"

Thatch raised a brow, having given up on. his effort to revive Marco somehow, "You never met the guy as well,"

"No, and i don't need to. After all of the fiasco he caused in my life, he doesn't deserve a single second of my time," The moustached man took another gulp, and slammed the now nearly empty bottle on the table, missing Marco's head only by a hair's breadth. Thatch, in his shock, yelled in outrage, "But enough talk about the bane of my life. We're here for Marco. Come on, boy, we're here for you tonight!"

Edward's laughter was enough to shook the entire sofa, and Rayleigh's face was red both from the moderate amount of liquor he had consumed and his gasping laughter, "Y-you, you have the right idea," he wheezed out, staring at the back of Roger's head. The man was trying to coax Marco into talking - or at least, stop trying to suffocate himself on the table - despite Thatch's best effort to stop him, "Oh my god, this is hilarious, Edward. This is.. this is the best night of my life,"

"Will you two geezer stop laughing and do something?! Roger, stop doing that, you'll give him a concussion!"

"I know, i know," the large man said in between snickers, "Best part of this is, Roger never realize how much of a hypocrite he is,"

"'m not a hypocrite!" The drunk raven haired man countered, staring hazily at his business partner and - much to Thatch's relief - stop knocking the top of Marco's head with the bottom of his bottle, "I told you there's a big difference between Marco and my son in law. Hell, there's an ocean worth of difference between myself and Marco's father in law. Our circumstances ain't even the same,"

In trying to reign in his laughter, Rayleigh nearly fell from his chair. Edward turned to Roger, a smug look on his face, "And how exactly do you even know? You don't," he snorted, biting the inside of his mouth to keep from another peals of laughter, "You don't even know the father in law," he nearly couldn't make it to the end of his sentence, already dissolving to another chortling fit.

"The hell is so damn funny?!" Thatch exclaimed on top of Roger's indignant snort, baffled by the behaviour he is witnessing in front of him. He knows that everyone here is drunk, but what is this great joke that he seems to be missing out on? "Pops!"

"I know, alright? I know! It's my gut feeling, i don't need to meet a guy to know he's bad news or when someone makes the worst mistake of his life!"

"Your gut feeling's as dull as your brain,"

"You wanna say that to my face, Ray?! I can still pack a punch even if i'm drunk!"

"Sssh, ssh, don't ruin the joke yet, Rayleigh, don't ruin it just yet,"

"So there _is_ a joke, Pops?! What is going on?!"

"I'm not ruining anything, Edward, bastard's so dumb he wouldn't even realize it until it's literally thrown to his face,"

"'Ey! Who's dumb?!"

"You, idiot! You've been contradicting yourself the entire night!"

"How the fuck did i contradict myself?! Oh, i get it, this is about what i told ya louts back at the bar, isn't it?" Roger glared and pointed at both Rayleigh and Edward alternatively, although in his drunken state, he missed them and was instead pointing centimetres away from them, "So what if the bastard wanna 'settle our differences' by meeting face to face, huh? After what he did, i can't believe i even once entertained the thought of agreeing to that, but no, not anymore!"

The man's attempt of standing up was full of swaying failure, and it's a miracle that he didn't slip and crack his head open on the floor, "You wanna know another reason i hate the guy? Because i know his type. I know my wife ask me to meet him out of nowhere, he put that idea in her head, trying to act like the 'good guy'. I'm not so old-fashioned to believe that my kid is still a sweet virginal boy, but you honestly believe that some guy 10 years his senior is going to look at a fun-having, gorgeous kid and didn't think he's an easy lay? I don't think so,"

All of the sudden, all good humour seems to be chased away from Edward's face, and he faced Roger with a mighty frown, "That's going to far, Roger!"

"Going to far!? I've been tolerating some asshole years above my son's age having his way with him because somehow, this one's 'different', and i'm the one going to far?!" the moustached man claimed shrilly, face turning red from something other than the level of alcohol in his blood, "But you know what, the age isn't even my main issue. You know how young my boy is?! You know how naive he is?! Oh, he liked to preach about how he's 'independent' and an 'adult who can make his own choices', but by the end of the day, he's a kid. My kid,"

Like Edward, Rayleigh had gained some semblance of seriousness back as well, pursing his lips tightly during his friend's drunken rambling, "Roger, i know my godson, and while i'll agree with you on some points, you're exaggerating and you know it,"

"Why are you two ganging up on me on this?!" he looked bewilderedly at both Edward and Rayleigh, aiming a near identical glare at him, "I'm trying to save my kid from an inevitable heartbreak here! Being a good dad, remember? I haven't been there for him for years, and now i'm going to! And if that means i have to go so far as to forcefully breaking them away, i will! In fact, you know what, i'll do just that! I'll make sure this boyfriend of his is gone before he even knows it, even if my kid ended up hating me for it because whether he likes it or not, i'm his father and i know what's best for him!"

"Roger, you—"

"You fucking piece of shit!"

No one, not even Thatch as the most sober one in the room saw it coming. One moment, Roger was standing there, all fired up because of his little speech and all of the sudden there was a blur and he goes down like a sack of heavy potatoes on top of piles and piles of empty alcohol bottles.

For a second, nobody moved or speak. Edward and Rayleigh stared down to the fallen Roger in shock, eyes watching the raven haired man holding onto his jaw in a daze. Thatch, meanwhile, gaped openly at Marco, arm raised up and eyes holding a great amount of contempt. Only the blonde's heavy breathing filled the silence in the room.

"All i wanted," he began, voice trembling and full of emotion, "was to be with him. I wanted to give him everything, i wanted to be there when he's sad, i wanted to be the one who wiped his tears, the reason for his smile, i wanted to be the one who holds him when he needed to be held, i'll give him the entire world if i could. I love him, plain and simple,"

Marco raised his head, tears streaking down his face, "I fucked it up. I lost him, i fucked it all up and you know why? Because of people like you!"

In one leap, he dove for Roger, lifting the older man by his collar. He barred his teeth, gritting against each other, "All i wanted was a fucking chance! To show his dad i wasn't whatever it is he thought i was! That i can take care of his son, that none of his fears will come true, and that even if it'll kill me, i will be the man who will treasure his son more than anything in this world! All i needed was a fucking chance and he won't even give me that because i wronged him for no reason at all!"

Pulled away from his daze, Thatch stood up, trying to pull Marco back, but Edward stopped him. The pompadoured man looked at his brother and boss, and to his father. Both Edward and Rayleigh stared solemnly at the display, leaving Thatch in his own confusion

" _You know what's best for him?!_ You abandoned your wife and son for years thinking that somehow, money is all your family needed instead of an actual caring patriarch!" Roger winced openly at the jab, and there is a look of pure sadistic satisfaction on Marco's face at the reaction, "And now come along some poor fucker, who's only sin was loving your son and suddenly he's the worst thing ever? Who the fuck are you to decide that?! All he probably wanted was to be with your son, to have a shot at making your kid the happiest person on earth but you won't know that because you're a stubborn mule whose going to cost someone a chance to be that simply because you hated them on principal!"

Marco release his hold with a shove, and it was only Rayleigh's quick reflex that stopped Roger from falling ass first on the floor. The blonde man shook his head, putting one hand on his hips and the other covering the entirety of his upper face. He wiped his tears forcefully, taking in a shuddering breath as he addressed Roger once more, "Or maybe you're right, maybe your son's boyfriend really is a crook. I mean, apparently i'm not as good of a boyfriend like i thought i am, because otherwise, the love of my life wouldn't have walked away on me. If you're right and i'm wrong, then yeah, kick his ass. I know i deserved it for what i did,"

Roger's mouth moved, as if he was trying to protest, but he closed it as soon as it was open. Marco reached into his pocket, squeezing the small object he had stored in there and shook his head sadly, "But maybe, maybe he's just like me. He's just a guy who fell in love, who had his own insecurities about his relationship with a much younger man and wondering everyday why couldn't he prove himself, but he decided to fuck it all and bought a ring because, you know what, maybe it'll work out somehow,"

He took the box out, gingerly opening the lid to reveal the small ring inside. Behind him, Edward exhaled at the sight of it, and Roger widened his eyes, "It didn't work out for me. I lost him," Marco closed it back, gripping the box tightly in his hand, "But i'm not going to just sit here, letting someone else who'd probably have a better luck than me ended up the same way i did. He wanted to meet you, didn't he? Maybe he wanted to show you that he's sincere and get it in your thick skull,"

The ring box was shoved back into Marco's pocket, and all 4 men around him could see the shakiness in his hand as he did so, "A chance is all he asked for, to prove himself," He stared deeply into Roger's eyes, melancholic blue finding guilt-ridden grey, "What the fuck do you have to lose?"

The question ran even in the silence that ensues. Nobody tried to stop Marco as he wobbled to the front porch, just to the side of the living room.

"I'm not sorry for the punch," he said over his shoulder, as he opened the balcony door and stepped outside, "just in case you're wondering,"

With that, he slammed the door close behind him.

'You know what i always wanted?" He remembered Ace saying one night, as they sat together in the very same spot, leaning closely to each other under a thick blanket to combat the cool night air, "I wanted to see a shooting star,"

Marco had looked down to his chest, which Ace had used as a pillow, "Why?"

The look Ace gave him was one of astonishment, "Because shooting star grants wishes, dummy! Why wouldn't i wanted to see a shooting star?"

"That's an old wives tale, though," was his reply, which granted him a displeased swat on his stomach, "Alright, let's say that shooting stars can grant wishes and you saw one. What are you going to ask for?"

Ace had frowned, humming loudly, "Maybe unlimited food? No, i want Law to get bit in the ass by karma for making fun of me constantly. Oh! A cheat for my next test! Professor Sakazuki is not kidding around in his class and he hated me so much, i swear to god, he'll kill me if he could. I don't even know what i do to him,"

Marco couldn't help but laugh at Ace's juvenile, yet predictable answer, "That's so… mundane. Hardly worthy of such magical power, isn't it?"

"You laugh, but food, stupid Law and Sakazuki's class are like my biggest problems,"

"Shouldn't you ask for something a bit more… important?"

The younger man gave him a look, before putting his head back on Marco's chest, "I guess i should," he muttered, "But i kinda already have the most important one,"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Ace peeked out from behind his bangs and Marco's chest, shyly biting his lips, "You're here with me now, aren't you?"

Now, Marco glanced at the empty chair next to him, pressed closely against his own. Those kind of simple and easy moments were his fondest times with Ace, just tender passing moments that may not look like much but meant everything to him. He looked forward to creating them every single day, whether they are right next to each other, or when they are only connected by a phone call.

Were those really all that's left now?

In his hand, he fidgeted with the ring box, the cool air slowly helping him regain some sobriety and lessening his headache. Inside, he can hear murmurs in different levels of volumes, but Marco didn't care. He said his piece. If it could change Roger's mind, then he wished the poor bastard of a son-in-law of his good luck. If he didn't, then Marco hoped the man won't make the same mistake and lose the love of his life.

Like him.

Marco opened the ring box yet again. Maybe it was just his emotions, or the less than adequate lighting in the porch, but he swore that the ring had dulled somehow. It didn't have the same shine that attracted him to it in the first place, and tracing the engraving inside caused more pain in his chest than a fluttering anticipation. He lifted the small accessory from its box, holding it up to eye level, "You should've wished for it anyway, Ace," he whispered to no one, smiling bitterly, "Or maybe i'm the one who should've wished on a shooting star,"

God, it's so painful.

The wind suddenly picked up, and Marco nearly stumbled from his sitting position due to the sudden breeze and his compromised sense of balance. The ring in his hand slipped, and in panic, he tried to swipe it back, "No, no, shit!"

The ring fell, but was quickly caught by a hand.

It was not his hand.

Huffing in relief, Marco glanced up to the owner of the hand, and found a somber looking Roger looking down on him. The older man glanced down to the ring, giving it a critical once over, " _A, Fire of My Heart. Yours, M,_ " he snorted fondly, offering the ring back to Marco on an upturned palm, "Whats on yours?"

There's hesitation in Roger's action, both in his offering hand, and in his voice. It was the beginning of a sort of apology, Marco realized, and when he glance up, he saw the nervousness behind the man's eyes, disguised behind his smile. The blonde took the ring and carefully putting it back to the box, "Knowing him? It's would've been either 'Birdbrain', 'Tweety' or even 'Tropical Pineapple', one of the other," he shrugged at Roger's odd look, "It's a long story,"

Roger made an amused sound at his answer, and sat down on the other, unoccupied chair. Ace's chair. What used to be Ace's chair.

"You're right," the man suddenly said with no preamble, but Marco supposed there is no need for anything else to be said other than delving straight into the issue, "Maybe i have been acting selfish,"

From the corner of his eyes, Marco caught Roger glancing back to the inside of the apartment, and found himself doing the same. Rayleigh and Edward had resumed drinking in a more controlled pace, while Thatch began cleaning the scattered bottle, once or twice glancing to the porch. He caught them staring at him, and nearly tripped on a bottle while trying to act like he wasn't trying to take a peek.

"It's not without reason," that pulled Marco's attention from Thatch back to Roger, finding the man staring at him sombrely, "But i might have taken it too far. And i know i've said some stuff that, while it hadn't been directed to you, hurts you. And for that i'm sorry,"

Marco clicked his tongue, "It doesn't matter, Roger—"

"But it does. The age thing, the thing about persuading my wife, my son's age, it was all my insecurity. I just," he sighed, "I'm not ready,"

He turned and gestured to the ring box, "It's easy for me to cheer you on with that, because as much as i like to joke about it, you're not my kid, and most importantly, i know you can take care of yourself. But if someone comes to me with a ring for my baby, i know i'm going to loose it because i can't, not just yet," the raven haired man looked down to his lap, placing his hands on top with palms turned up, quite close to each other, "I still remember holding him in my arms, like this, like that was yesterday. I remember him crying as a child, i remembered cradling him, how am i, as a father supposed to be ready to give that precious life away to someone else i've never even met before?"

Marco took in the sadness in Roger's tone, the hazy eyes that seems to see more than a lap and a pair of empty hands, "You made sure they're someone good enough to give that away to," a smile made its way to Marco's face, small, yet present, "Because like it or not, Roger, that little baby isn't a baby anymore. It's a grown man, with his own thoughts and free will. Infantilizing your child is not going to make him stop growing,"

Roger squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth like he was in enormous pain, "Ugh, that was the hardest thing to hear, like you wouldn't believe. Why do you have to torture me so?" he whined dramatically, though the smile in his face gave him away, "Yeah, your father and Rayleigh told me the same thing, all too often. And i think," the man sighed, "I think all this time, that's what my son was trying to tell me. It's just so hard to accept it,"

He sounded so utterly defeated, it's hard not to feel bad for him, "If it makes you feel any better," Marco said, "Just because you have to accept your kid growing up, doesn't mean that your son will ever be too old for his dad to come and kick whatever asshole that tries to mess with him,"

At his words, Roger gave out a barking laughter, and Marco joined in with a more subdued chuckles.

They quieted down to little amused snorts, "Those old coots were right. I'm a damn fool,"

"Me too,"

"Oh, come on now—"

"No, i mean, he's got a point, you know? Here i am, going on about how you're being self-righteous, and i've been doing the same thing. I— we both got good intentions, but the road to hell is paved by them, isn't it?" the blonde laughed deprecatingly, "Thinking about how 'i'm doing this for him' and 'this is for the best for him', but not even once did i ever stop to think 'does he even want this?'. A relationship is all about balance and trust, not just love. I neglected that,"

And that cost him everything.

A hand appeared into his periphery, prying the ring box out of his hand. Marco gave it up without a fight, but he kept a watchful gaze on Roger, as the man popped the box open to reveal the ring inside once more, "You know what else is needed in a relationship?" the older man asked him, lifting the ring out of the box and bring it to eye level once more, "Forgiveness, and perseverance,"

Roger held it right next to his left hand, where his own wedding ring was, a lot more simpler compared to Marco's ring and a lot more faded and old, "If a single mistake is all it took for a relationship to end, my wife would've divorced me more than a thousand time by now. Hell, if it is, right now, she would be filing for one as we speak!" he took off his ring, putting it side by side with Marco's considerably smaller ring, "But i apologize, not only because i know i was in the wrong, but also because i love her so much that the thought of losing her scares me. And then she'd forgive me, because we love each other, and because 'us' is still something worth fighting for,"

Marco's eyes glazed over at his words, but he continued to stare at the rings in Roger's hand. Just like his, Roger's own ring had an engraving in the inside, though much shorter and simpler than his. _RR,_ carved in a simple, elegant font _._

"From then on, i'd fix my mistakes somehow and strive to be better, and make sure i didn't so the same stupid mistake. Of course, things aren't always a smooth sailing like that, but what is?" With a chuckle, the moustached man looked up from the rings to Marco, a lopsided smile on his lips, "Mistake, fights, it will happen, but they're not the end of a relationship,"

Roger puts on his ring back again, covering the deeply contrasting ring tan on his finger. One can tell simply from the colour that Roger rarely, if ever took his wedding ring off since he has it on, "You know what is the end of a relationship though?" he asked genially, twirling Marco's ring in between his thumb and pointer, "It's that moment one of you stopped fighting for it. You have a ring with a name on it, Marco. Are you really going to be the first one to give up?"

Again, he offered the ring back to Marco, but this time, instead of meekness, Roger offered it to him like a man offering an answer to a baffled child.

Marco looked past the ring, to Roger's watchful eyes, "What if he doesn't forgive me?"

Roger's eyes looked at him with patience, but there was a touch of sadness on them, "Then it'll hurt, but take solace in the fact that you have fought for your love until the bitter end," at Marco's hesitance to take the ring back, Roger leaned even closer, the glint on his eyes wiping away any hint of gentleness and replacing them with mischievousness, "But, of course, you'll never know until you meet him, right?"

The familiar sentence thrown back at him caught Marco off guard, and at Roger's grin he laughed merrily, reaching over to take the ring back. But instead of giving it up, Roger tightened his grip on the ring as Marco took hold of it, earning himself a confused look from the blonde, "Let's promise each other," he told the younger man, "You go and win your boyfriend back, and you promise yourself that this will never happen again in between the two of you. I will fix things up with my son and wife, and i'll agree to meet up with my son's boyfriend," he smirked, wagging his brow, "Deal?"

Marco blinked, and snorted, "Isn't that's what we're planning to do anyway?" he commented, grinning. When Roger refused to relent, he chuckled, and nodded heartily, "Deal,"

Copying Marco's grin, Roger released the ring from his grasp, "Easier said than done," he huffed, leaning back against the chair, "Now i just need to find out whether or not i was just imagining it that my kid's boyfriend is an asshole,"

"And i still need to convince my father-in-law to meet me in person," Marco continued, putting the ring back to its box and the box back to his pocket, "But i'll settle with getting him back first, i suppose,"

"That's the spirit," Roger cackled, before groaning, "Oh man, why can't you be my son's boyfriend anyway. It'll make things easier,"

Marco tossed his head backward, remembering that particular conversation and laughing at the desperation in Roger's voice, "Sorry Roger," he said in between laughter, as the older man joined in, "If it makes you feel any better, i hoped talking to my father-in-law will be as easy as talking to you"

Thatch had not stopped grumbling about excessive alcohol intake and secretive geezers after Roger left to talk to Marco, and in the end, he had given up in favour of taking out the trash and cleaning the kitchen. As soon as the pompadoured man walked out, Edward and Rayleigh looked at each other, and to the two figure talking amicably outside on the balcony.

"Just," Rayleigh spoke first, amazement in his voice, "How? How did they not realize it? How did you realize it? Why didn't you say anything to them?"

"In my defense, i have," Edward defended, taking a sip from his glass of water Thatch had supplied them both with, having thrown away everything else, "They just… didn't seems to catch my drift. And besides, it was just too funny,"

"Edward, Roger just got sucker punched. By your son,"

"I know. Hilarious, right?"

"Tremendously so," with one final glance to the balcony, Rayleigh crossed his arms and leaned forward, a sly smile on his face, "Tell me everything you know, don't skimp on any detail, i want to join in on the ridicule once they find out,"


	7. Chapter 7

The last thing Roger remembered from last night after leaving Marco's house was being driven home by a fuming Thatch, and promptly blacking out in the back of the car. He was waken up not moments later by the car stopping abruptly, and his good friend Rayleigh thought it was a good idea to roll him out of the car and leave him by his front door in an undignified heap. The car sped up, not giving Roger any chance to tell his friends what he thought of them and their disposal tactic, fading in the distance along with Edward's roaring laughter.

Real mature.

The sound had evidently woken up the house occupant, because not long after he decided to use his door to lay his aching head, it was slammed open and Roger could make out the tip of painted toes and the bottom of a flimsy night dress.

He didn't remember anything after that, until this morning, when he woke up with a killer headache and a sharp tug on his moustache.

"Wake up," commanded the voice next to him, "It's almost noon,"

"Noooooo," he whined, because it doesn't matter if you're approaching 60, a hangover will always be hangover.

"Roger,"

"Don't wanna…," there's something soft underneath his head, which he quickly burrow his head in, "My head hurts,"

"And whose fault was that?" the voice huffed, a hand running through his hair. It felt nice. He leaned up to the touch, hearing bell-like giggles from over his head, "Come on, Roger, at least eat something first. I kept your breakfast warm, and i made some of Uncle Garp's anti-hangover cure,"

Roger grimaced even more, "That thing tasted like unwashed feet,"

"And yet it's been extremely effective on you since we first got married. Now, get up, before you feel worse,"

The hand left, much to his disappointment, and despite his aversion to the sudden light, the raven haired man looked up from the pillow he had been hiding behind to the slim, retreating figure next to the bed. Events beyond last night began to enter his brain, spanning over days, even weeks, "Honey?"

The figure stopped moving, "Yes, dear?"

A small smile appeared on his lips at the endearment, and he braved the sunlight to peek even further up, catching the sight of a patient smile and find eyes looking down on him. She hadn't smiled like that to him since the beginning of this ridiculous fight, which had been going on for weeks now. He missed it, so, so much. Bits and pieces from the conversation last night filled his mind, and Roger wondered what would happen if he never get to see it again, because despite his bravado, it was a genuine fear that had been festering in him in every argument, including this one, "I'm sorry,"

The smile slipped, and those rosy lips let out a sigh. He watched her move back to his side, sitting close enough that he could feel the teasing touch of her dress, "Oh, Roger," she said simply, rubbing up and down his back.

Fighting down his joint's protests, he wrapped an arm around that slim waist, half burying his face on her lap.

"I'm sorry, Rouge,"

* * *

Garp's medicine still tasted like farmer's feet, but it was so effective that he barely felt any lingering pain by the time he finished up his breakfast and told Rouge of his plan.

There's a happy twinkle in his wife's eyes, but her lips were pressed together in exasperation, "It's about time, Roger. And while i feel bad for your manager, i'm also thankful if he could do what even i could not,"

"He convinced me with a fist to the jaw," the man pointed out, pressing the frozen peas harder against the blossoming bruise on said area.

"A bit too barbaric for my taste, but if gets the job done," she tittered gently, stopping only when he winced from the pain, "But i'm really glad, Roger. And i'm sure Ace will be too,"

At the reminder of his son, Roger quickly frowned, "Yeah, if he even want to talk to me,"

"Oh, he will," Rouge was already out of her seat, making her way to the wireless telephone, "Even if i have to talk some sense into him. He will be a fool to still be mad when you finally give in,"

Roger chuckled warily, "Yeah, but he's my son. Don't write off foolishness too quickly, my dear,"

Rouge laughed a little at his joke, as she handed him the telephone. She sat back down right next to him when Roger began to dial Ace's phone number, resting her chin on her palm to lean in and listen to their conversation better. When the dial tone began, her free hand slithered to his, holding tightly. Roger gave her a little smile, as a hoarse voice entered the phone, "Hello?"

"Ace?" Did he just woke up? Then again, this is the weekend, "Ace, look, we need to tal—"

"What do you want?" Roger pursed his lips, as Rouge squeezed his hand tighter. Right, he shouldn't be surprised with the hostility, they are not in the best of terms right now, after all.

"I know that you're mad at me," he began patiently, trying not to let the aggressiveness in Ace's tone gets to him, "But, i wanted to apologize for the way i acted. I was childish, i was selfish, i was wrong. Can we, can we please start over? Between us and, you know, about the whole…," Roger gulped, "…boyfriend thing?"

There was silence from the other side of the phone. Roger glanced at Rouge, who bore a frown and shrugged, "Look, what i meant to say is, i know i've been excessive about this issue, but i wanted to fix things. Maybe we can talk it out, see eye to eye, and," he took in a deep breath, wincing a little when Rouge pressed one of her sharp nails on his palm, "and yeah, you can, you can introduce us— well, me, to your boyfriend?"

Again, nothing from Ace's side. By now, Roger had grown worried, and looking at Rouge, she seemed to be in the similar state of concern.

When Ace finally spoke, Roger had never known his son could speak with so much contempt, "Is this supposed to be a joke?"

Roger opened and closed his mouth, unsure why his peace-offering was met with such hostility, "Well, i—"

"Because it's a fucking shitty joke. Now? Now!? Now you want to 'see eye to eye'?! After everything, everything you did, you—!" and as if the outburst wasn't alarming enough, Ace suddenly broke down to violent sobs, "After everything you said and done, now you're…,"

"Ace, i just don't want us to fight like this anymore! I'm trying to be civil—"

"Fuck you and your civility! We broke up!" Any flare of anger that might have appeared from the increasing hostility died down, leaving Roger dumbfounded and in slight pain due to how hard Rouge suddenly squeezed his hand. Ace was still crying, choked sobs and hiccups and all, "We broke up. He's everything for me, the best thing that ever happened to me and i lost him and i can't even _blame you for this_!"

Rouge stood up, pacing right behind Roger's seat, as Ace slowly calmed down. Relatively, "So, you win," he finally said, hiccuping. Roger's insides churned at the sheer coldness in his son's voice "He's gone. Are you happy now?"

Roger didn't even get the chance to answer; Ace hung up the call, leaving his father listening to a beeping dial tone.

By the time the dial tone turned into a long beep did Roger finally put it down and turned to Rouge, finding a glare levelled to him. The man shook his head, "What, i didn't know! I'm trying here!"

"Not you, Roger. Ace," Rouge hissed, pointing vaguely to the phone, "That boy did something. No wonder i can't get a hold of him since yesterday. There is no way they would broke up out of nowhere, they were fine just days ago," With a firm stare and her finger pointing at him, Rouge told him sternly, "Fix this. I don't know how, but go to your son, and fix this,"

"What—It's not even my fault they broke up!"

"Not your fault?! Everything about this is your fault!" Rouge surged forward, gripping tightly on his collar, and Roger had sudden flashbacks from last night. Even if the one choking him is now his small and lithe wife instead of someone his own size like Marco, it didn't stop him from being concerned, "If you hadn't been so stubborn, none of this would've happened! I swear to everything that is holy, Roger Gol, if my boy lost— no, if _i_ lost a perfectly good man as a son-in-law because of your stubbornness, you will have to answer to me!"

And to demonstrate this anger, Rouge slammed her entire palm down on their table, where the corner cracked resoundingly under the sudden pressure. Roger, not for the first time, gulped at the display, eyes following the pitiful shard that fell soundlessly from his wife's hand to the floor, "Get it?"

"Y-yes dear,"

The Portgas family may think that it was Garp he feared out of all of them, but there is nothing in this blasted world that he feared more than Rouge's temper.

* * *

Rouge had driven him over to Ace's place, which is a good idea on one side, because even if his hangover had been reduced to mild headaches, it may not be the best of ideas to have him drive on his own just yet. It was also a bad idea, because their destination was at least 20 minutes away, and through the entire time, what pain Roger had lost was regained through Rouge's constant berating.

Whoever this man is, he better be as godly as his wife made him out to be, because otherwise, today is just _not_ worth it.

Well, he had a promise to keep and a family to keep intact.

Things he'd go through in the name of love.

Sighing, Roger climbed up a set of stairs and rang the doorbell. There's muffled whispering somewhere near the entrance when the bell chimed inside, and it didn't take long for the door to be opened. Sabo stood behind the door, harried looking and utterly surprised to see him, "Uncle Roger!" he exclaimed, eyes almost reflexively glancing back inside of the house, "Hey, uh, what are you doing here?"

The blonde had a smile on his lips, but Roger could tell that they're strained, a forced politeness. Right, Ace had been quite loud on the phone, and if there's anyone who can match Roger in his protectiveness over Ace, it'll be Sabo. Grimly, the raven haired man tried to walk in, only for Sabo to step in front of him, forbidding him entrance. He sighed, "Look, Uncle, maybe you should come back another day,"

"I'm here to make things right, Sabo,"

Sabo bit his lower lips, "I uh, i don't know—"

The door was suddenly pulled open even wider, and Law stood right next to Sabo, a phone in one hand and two pair of jackets in another, "Make yourself at home," he drawled to Roger, pushing Sabo away from their path, "Come on, we're going to the mall. I need new books and shoes, and someone to carry it all for me since Eustass-ya had to work today,"

"Wha— Hey! Law!"

"He's sleeping. Probably. You'd know where to find him," ignoring the blonde's protest, Law turned his gaze to Roger, eyes sharp and lips formed to a scowl, "Try not to make too much of a mess. Well, any more mess, at least,"

His tone made it easy to understand that Law wasn't talking about the state of the house, "I won't. I'll clean up after myself,"

Law snorted, haughty and derisive, "We'll see. Sabo and i'll be back in an hour,"

"I didn't agree to go anywhere! Hey! Stop pushing!"

"Make it two," Roger reached into his pants - the same one from last night, but then again, Rouge didn't give him too much option - pulling out his wallet and a couple of bills from inside of it. Then, after some consideration, he pulled out one of his credit cards instead, handing out the black card to Law, "You know what, have fun, kids. Don't tell Dragon and Corazon about this,"

His card was accepted with a quirk of a brow and a grin that reveals sharp incisors, "Oh, we won't. Trust me," and with that, he left, pulling a protesting Sabo behind him. Roger watched them leave, before walking inside of the house.

* * *

Ace's room was a mess, no surprise there, but the mess was less of the result of perpetual laziness and more because of the flurry of anger. A heavy looking bag was thrown to one corner, its content, clothes and the likes spilling out to the floor. There's other things rolling around near the door and the walls, and in the centre of it all, in the middle of the bed was a curled figure facing away from the door, head buried in a clothing of sorts.

His son's voice was hoarse when he spoke, even worse than during their call, "I'm fine, Sabo," he said tiredly, showing that he is anything but, "You don't have to check on me every 5 minutes,"

"It's not Sabo,"

Roger heard a sharp exhale as Ace scrambled up to stare at him with wide eyes and oh, it tugs on his heart to see how horrible his only child looked. His face was pale and eyes bloodshot, one side full of indent that was only half covered by the hair pressed flat against his skin. There's still fresh tear running down from his eyes, adding to the tear trail down his cheeks. The surprise was quickly wiped away, when Ace scowled, plopping back to the bed, "Why are you here?" the words were spat out like acid, loosing its effect only because he started sniffing, burying his face once again, "Whatever. Just say whatever you want and leave me alone,"

"I come here to apologize," the older man said softly, making his way inside of the room while navigating through the miscellaneous items on the floor.

Ace scoffed, only succeeding to make it sound like a sob, "Whatever,"

Sighing, Roger slowly lowered himself to the bed, sitting on the edge. From this angle, he could see that the clothing in Ace's hand was a jacket of sorts, longer and seemingly larger compared to his upper torso. There's also a logo of sorts on the back of it, hidden and clutched close by Ace's hand. The hood, where Ace had hidden his face against, has numerous wet patches on the surface.

Roger sighed, "I'm not going to try to excuse myself, Ace. I know what i did was wrong," he began, trying to reach out put his hand on Ace's leg, the closest body part he could reach. Ace must've seen him, because he curled in even closer, scowling. He relented, continuing, "But i at least want you to understand why i'm so protective of you,"

"Because i'm just a kid to you,"

"Close. Because you're _my_ kid,"

No reply. Whether it was because he said the right thing or because Ace was even angrier, Roger couldn't tell, "I'm your dad, Ace, even if i had been a less than stellar one all this time. But i'm trying my best for you and your mom because i love the two of you. You're the most important thing in my life,"

Again, he sighed tiredly, running a hand through his hair. When Roger looked back, Ace was looking at him from behind the jacket. He tried to smile, but it felt flat, "I know i failed before in making sure that you know that. And in trying to fix that, i might have been… overzealous. Your mom called me overprotective and someone else called me a stubborn mule alone with some very strong words," at this, he could hear Ace snort in amusement, though by the surprised look on the younger's face, he didn't meant to find it funny, "But i was just trying to protect you from bad people,"

"He's my boyfriend,"

"Ace, i can't even trust my own family members at times, what makes you think that i will instantly trust some stranger? Especially about you?"

There's a flick of curiousity in Ace's eyes, and Roger does not linger long enough to give him a chance to ask. He does not want to explain that particular story, not today, or ever, "Of course, i didn't mean to go overboard, especially not if it makes you unhappy. And i won't deny that there is still some part of me that," Roger clicked his tongue, shaking his head, "That couldn't accept the fact that you're growing up,"

Silence ensues. There's a shift on the bed, and despite the settling heaviness in his heart, Roger still find it in himself to smile when Ace sat up, even if he did not move any closer. Though, he was still clutching the jacket against his chest like a security blanket and looks away from him. Good enough for him to know that his son is willing to listen, "And i should, because you are. But even so, you're still young, Ace, you're still impulsive, temperamental, and you're still innocent and naive about a lot of things. And as your father, of course i will worry,"

Ah crap, Roger thought, when the words escaped him, now Ace will immediately shut him out again. He was telling the truth, but still, probably not the best way to get Ace to forgive him. And yet, as he waited for the inevitable blow up, it never came. Ace looked forlorn, biting his lower lip and even looking like he's going to burst into tears again.

This he wasn't expecting, but no good father could stand to see their child like this and just stand there and do nothing. Breaking any invisible barrier, Roger immediately pulled Ace into a deep embrace, and was pleased to found that the younger man did not fight him, "I'm sorry, Ace. I'm sorry for everything i did,"

Ace cried harder against him, "I'm sorry," he choked out, "I'm sorry too, Dad,"

Roger held him tighter, and won't deny that he may have shed a tear or two.

* * *

Once they got it out of their system, Roger left briefly to get a glass of water for the two of them. He came back to Ace still sitting in the same spot, knees pulled up to his chest and clutching the jacket once more, "You're right," he said in a small voice once Roger sat back down next to him, slightly muffled by the jacket, "God, i'm so childish and stupid. I hate myself,"

"Now, now," Roger chided, "Ace, i didn't say those things to make you feel like that. You're just young, you'll grow out of it,"

"But i am stupid!" his boy - he'd never be able to stop thinking of Ace as such, despite everything he said - insisted, "If i wasn't, none of this would've happened. I won't… he won't… we'd still be…," he held onto the jacket even further, pulling his knees up to his chest.

Oh, that's what he was talking about.

Roger glanced to the jacket, finally figuring out why it had looked to be one or two size too big for Ace. It actually was. Pushing down any sudden spark of irritation - of course the boyfriend has got to fit in there somewhere here today - he moved closer, placing a hand on Ace's nape. Well, this one he did kind of promised Rouge. And Marco. No matter how reluctant he is to do this, "You want to tell me why you two broke up?"

The look Ace gave him was so full of incredulousness that Roger was partially offended, "Give me a little credit here, i said i'm trying and i meant it. Even about this…," he waved his hand vaguely, tongue felt like lead as he hissed out, "Boyfriend,"

Ace giggled a little, and that was enough to chase away any brewing clouds on top of his head, "We had a fight," Ace said finally, staring glumly at the jacket, "He found out i ran away—"

Roger bit his tongue before he can shout, wincing slightly at the pain. He's trying to fix things here, and inciting a fight is not the best way to do it.

But really? Ran away? How did he not know this? Oh, he knew the decision to let Ace live by himself - well, with Law and Sabo - years ago was a bad one. His son ran away and no one told him, maybe didn't even know. Wait, how could no one know? Shouldn't Sabo or Law notice something? Well, he'll be having some stern words with those boys when they come back—

"—and that's why i've been living with him for several days. Not that he know what i did initially, i mean i stayed over pretty often and i moved most of my stuff without him realizing it—"

Stayed over?! So they… his boy… He knew Ace had sex, he's not that naive as a parent, but staying over?! Moving over most of his stuff?! That sounds way too close to being…

"But it's kind of his fault since he asked me to move in, and then take it back. Yeah, we settled that that's not going to happen anytime soon, but can you blame me?"

"Oh dear lord," Roger breathed out, feeling headache slowly coming back, as if Ace's story had somehow undo whatever miraculous work Garp's medicine had done. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Ace - who was looking at him strangely - and tried to speak in the most normal way possible, "So you guys didn't," he gulped,

"live together?"

Ace shook his head, looking glum, "Well, no. But i stayed over every weekend, and it's fine, at least for a little while until," the younger male paused, taking peeks at his father.

"Until?"

"Nothing," he sighed, clutching the jacket so tightly his knuckles turned white, "It doesn't matter anymore. I ruined everything,"

"Ace," Roger placed a hand over his son's, prying the hold to at least return some semblance of circulation back to the younger's hand, "Just tell me,"

Sniffing, Ace did, "He… he said that, while he wanted to, he didn't want it to ruin things between us,"

Roger frowned, "How would moving in ruins your relationship?" A light bulb appears in his mind, as quick as lightning and nearly as quick as his fatherly senses, "Unless he was unfaith—"

"No, not me and him," Ace cuts, peering up to him warily, "I mean us, as in you and me,"

The lightbulb dies, along with Roger's eureka moment and any words he may have wanted to say.

And as Ace continues, Roger fell into a deeper state of speechlessness, "He said that, he felt that it's wrong to do anything more than just dating as normal when you still haven't approved of him. Because he's old school, and wanted to do things the right way. I told him i couldn't care less, but he, he's just so sweet, saying that he didn't want to just move in and promised me that we'll…" when words finally failed him, Ace let out a keening sound that resembled that of a wounded animal, before sobbing anew, "I miss him so much, why did i ever told him all of those horrible stuff? So i was pissed off, but i know he meant well. I didn't even mean half of the things i said,"

Numbly, Roger could only watch this time, as Ace furiously wiped his eyes, "He's always been so understanding and encouraging, even when it comes to you," he said, glancing at Roger, "That day you came with me and mom to the villa? I was confused and a little angry, because why did it take you so long, you know? But he was the one who told me to give you a chance, in spite of it. He's always, always reminding me to try and accept that you're trying to change for your family, that he's fine to be put aside if it meant we can fix things between us, all of that despite knowing that you didn't approve of him,"

Oh, he remembered that. Remembered how stand-offish Ace had been when he first announced his coming along, and how he gradually warms up to the idea of Roger staying. It had been a crux for their relationship going back the way it used to be, years before he put his family aside for work, and it was what motivate him into trying harder for both Rouge and Ace, that he still had a chance in making things right.

And unbeknownst to him, he owed that chance to this guy?

"That was why we fought. I was so angry at you for not wanting to listen, to understand that he's not a bad guy at all, that i took it all out on him of all people. I just wanted him to be selfish for me for once, just to agree with me how horrible you have been, but he had to be so gallant, telling me to apologize to Mom, and to stop running away because i didn't want to deal with you, and i just," Ace groaned, burying his face into the jacket, "I know he was right, and that's why i couldn't take it,"

Roger swallowed noisily, as Ace traced his finger down the jacket's logo absently, "You're right. He was right. I'm such a spoilt brat,"

There's self-loathing in those harsh, spat out words, as well as regret. He wanted to pull Ace in for another hug, but Roger couldn't move, too busy muling and reeling from everything he had learned in the span of minutes.

When he finally spoke, it was like an out of body experience. Like it wasn't even him who said it, "He sounds like a great guy,"

Even Ace looked surprised, though it was nothing compared to Roger's own, "Yeah. Yeah, he is," he sniffed, smiling brightly for the first time since Roger came in, "He's cheesy, romantic, he's really goofy at times and he's just a giant dork, and i don't know how he puts up with me half of the time. He's not perfect, but he's close to it, as far as i'm concerned," the smile wavered, and it tugged Roger's heartstring when Ace's bottom lip began to quiver again, "And i lost him, because i'm a stupid, immature kid,"

Something rang quite close to home to Roger in that sentence, and he was reminded of the day before, of what he told Marco. The probability of jeopardizing his own relationship, though he hadn't gone that far, was a constant worry in his mind. And it is hard for him to think about this now, when this time, it's actually his son, and this is the very same relationship that he had been against since day one.

But as Ace stifled down a sob, looking at the jacket with a mixture of affection and melancholy, Roger find himself slowly giving up. Resisting the urge to slam his head against the wall and rid himself of this impulse, he took in a deep breath, and decided to take the leap to the point of never return, "Well, you could always apologize and ask him to take you back,"

"I can't," the reply came automatically, almost mechanically. As if it was something Ace had debated a lot with himself, "I was the one who broke it off, and i was the one who was more than rude to him. Why would he take me back?"

"Well, you don't know that, do you?" Roger told him, "You haven't even ask,"

Ace slowly turned to him, contemplating his words. Then, he licked his lower lips, before taking in a shuddering breath, "What if he said no?"

There's a sense of deja vu enveloping Roger at the simple question, even if this time, he was sitting on a bed instead of a chair and this time, it was his flesh and blood instead of someone he often treated with the same level of fondness as his own his flesh and blood. Smiling slightly, he said, "That's the first time i actually hear you asking that first before jumping the guns,"

At his words, Ace pouted slightly "I'm trying not to be impulsive. You know, something that got me in trouble in the first place?" he then sighed, eyes downcast, "It already cost me my relationship with the two men i love,"

Roger bit the insides of his mouth at the mention of the word 'love', but was instead left confused as he processed the entire sentence, "…Two?"

He didn't receive a reply. Instead, Ace simply stared at him, and that look spoke volumes. It caused a swell in Roger's heart, "Oh," he whispered softly, smiling. He pulled his son close with an arm around his back, letting a head full of dark hair fell against his shoulder, "Well, trying to think ahead is a good thing. but thinking too much and too far will also be dangerous," he said with.a chuckle, "It nearly cost me my relationship with my most precious boy,"

Ace snorted in amusement. There hasn't been a sound that cause him so much relief in a while.

"You think i should do that?" Ace asked after a long period of silence, with Roger leaving him to his muling, "Ask if he'll take me back, even if he'll say no?"

"Well, at the very least, you can apologize to him. But you won't know his answer until you ask,"

He felt Ace nod lightly, hesitantly against his shoulder. Roger held him tighter, "Talk to him, maybe he'll understand," he encouraged the boy, taking in a deep, long breath as he continued, "And once things are alright in between the two of you, i'll be waiting to meet him,"

Ace almost jumped out of his grip, and Roger smiled at the display of excitement behind red-rimmed eyes, "Really?"

Roger chuckled, nodding, "I already told you, i wanted to try for you. And i'll be honest, he doesn't sound that bad, maybe i really did judge too quickly,"

Saying that comes out easy for him, especially when Ace looked at him with such gratefulness and joy, before pulling him in for hug, wrapping his arms around his father's shoulder, "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you,"

Smiling, Roger returned the embrace, patting the younger's back, "Just make sure he's as good as you make him out to be, okay? If he wasn't i can still kick his ass,"

"I promise dad, you'd have nothing to worry about," Ace muttered against his neck, "Marco's like the best guy ever,"

Roger felt like time has stopped, "I'm sorry, what?"

Ace slowly released his embrace, prying off his father's suddenly stiff arms. There's a worried frown on his face, "What do you mean 'what'?"

"…What did you say his name was?"

"…Marco?"

That's… that's not even possible right? After all, he'd know if it's… 'Marco' is a pretty common name, right? Yeah, there's no way, it's just a coincidence, otherwise, he'd know.

But didn't Marco also broke up recently, to a much younger boyfriend?

And he met this boyfriend on a cruise, which is where Ace met his.

Come to think of it, that jacket in Ace's hand looks like something he came across recently…

Quick as lightning, ignoring Ace's confused and startled yelp, Roger pulled the tear-soaked jacket out of his grip and spread it in front of him, revealing that the logo was an emblem of sorts. One that he immediately recognize the origin, and one that caused a flashback to a moment months ago, in the form of a beautifully taken picture that has become a screensaver in a particular phone. A mixture of emotion began to raise from his chest at the dawning realization.

"…Newgate?"

"Yeah, Marco Newgate," Ace informed him innocently, unaware of the turmoil in his poor father's head, or the impending heart attack, "Do you know him?"

Marco Newgate. A.k.a Edward's son, his manager, the one who shook him out of his stubbornness, the one he made a pact with to fix their respective relationships, the one who was recently heartbroken, one with seemingly never ending trouble that seemingly originated from his love life, and also the same person he had offered multiple - admittedly bad - advice to for said love problem. The one who Roger felt he could connect deeply due to the similarity of their problem, his in the matter of son-in-laws and Marco's in—

Father-in-laws.

"Dad, are you okay? You look really, really pale,"

"I need to sit down,"

"Dad, you're already sitting down,"

"Then i need to lay down,"

Giving the jacket back to Ace, Roger immediately do so, bouncing a little on the soft, bed surface. There's little dots on his vision as he stared up to Ace's empty ceilings, and the alcohol from last night felt like they're knocking on his throat, trying to come up again. A mop of black hair entered his line of sight, framing freckled face that bore worried eyes, "Dad? Do you want me to call mom?"

"Go," he choked out, gripping Ace's shoulder, "Go now, Ace and fix things with him,"

Instead of doing what he was more or less ordered to, Ace frowned even more, "Well, yeah, but Dad, are you okay? You're scaring me,"

"Don't, don't worry about me. And don't think too much, he'll take you back immediately," with a wild flail of his hand, Roger pointed to the door, wide eyed, "Go, Ace. Just go and ask him to take you back quickly, before you regret this for the rest of your life,"

Before _he_ regret this for the rest of _his_ life.

"I don't get it but, okay," With that, Ace slipped away from his view, and from his periphery, Roger could see him bundling up in Marco's jacket - that very same Marco, with Edward's family emblem on the back, that very same Edward - grabbing up something he couldn't see and making his way to the door. He stopped at the doorway, and turned back to the bed, "Dad?"

Roger felt like his throat was dry as he spoke, "Yes, son?"

Ace smiled, a genuine, affectionate one, "I don't know what's going on but," he bowed down and pressed a light kiss on his forehead, "I love you. Thank you so much,"

And with that, he's gone. In Ace's hurry, the front door was slammed loud enough to tell Roger that he's all alone in the house, left with only a strong urge to scream.

So he did exactly that; he screamed.

Somewhere in the distance, Edward Newgate had an unexplainable urge to laugh hysterically, and an even stronger urge to call his good friend, Roger.


	8. Chapter 8

"Yep, you're sick, alright,"

Marco shifted his glare from Thatch and to the thermometer in his hand, but relented once the strain on his eyes caused his headache to get worse. The pillow underneath his head is disgustingly damp from sweat, but he hadn't even the energy to stand up, much less change his sheets, "Can't be that bad," he muttered, throat scratchy with every word.

The look Thatch gave him was one full of doubt, "Yeah, no. It's probably worse," he stood up, carrying the thermometer and an empty bowl from Marco's bedside with the remains of this morning's breakfast, "Well, strict bedrest it is,"

"I don't need strict bedrest, it'll pass once I take something for it," Marco countered, made unconvincing by the cough that tore through him afterwards, "I can't just stay in bed,"

"Marco, you just spent the entire morning worshipping the porcelain god, hadn't kept down all 3 plates I made so far and," the pompadoured man looked down to the device in his hand, whistling, "you have a high fever. I'm surprised we haven't added alcohol poisoning to the list, with how much you had last night," he said with a quirk of his brow.

"But I need to go—"

"To the bathroom?"

A sigh, "No,"

"Then you will stay in bed," at the deviant look levelled at him, Thatch rolled his eyes, "You know, the more you rest, the sooner you get better. I don't know what you think being petulant will achieve. It's not like you'll be able to go very far, with your condition,"

He has a point. Just trying to maintain eye contact with Thatch was a struggle, what with his eyes fighting to keep close, not to mention the room around him won't stop spinning. All of that, to say nothing of his sweating and shivering, "But—'

"One more word, and I am not above tying you down to the bed," Thatch said with an air of finality, staring down at the sickly man with a frown, "Look, whatever it is, i'm sure it can wait. Seriously, Marco, i'm not kidding around. You have a temperature of 102. Any higher than that, and i'm taking you to the hospital,"

You're exaggerating, Marco wanted to retort, but a series of violent coughing tore through him incessantly, and by the end of it, the blonde was so winded, he ended up laying back down on the bed. Thatch sent him a look, one that shows he knows Marco won't make another complaint, before leaving without another word. Once his brother's footsteps began to fade away, Marco closed his eyes, willing the dull pounding on the back of his head to stop.

It hadn't been the most pleasant way to wake up, stumbling out from your bed and nearly missing the toilet before spilling out every last thing inside of your stomach. He hadn't even realized that Thatch had stayed over for the night - he remembered him leaving with Pops and his entourage, but then Marco had long since passed out then - until someone dragged him out of the bathroom and make sure he kept breathing. He had been in and out of consciousness since, only reaching the peak of awareness again when he needs to vomit out whatever food Thatch had painstakingly force into him.

He must've slipped back into unconsciousness unknowingly, brought back into the world of the living when there's a thud next to the bed. Thatch had placed down a tray on his nightstand, carrying a mug filled with steaming hot water and a strip of medicine, as well as a large bowl.

"Take this," he ordered, cracking out two nondescript pills out of the strip and offering them to Marco along with the hot water, "Rakuyo said it's really effective, but it's pretty strong so you'll be drowsy soon," Marco took it, not recognizing the name from anything he had in his medicine drawer and wondered if he had slipped into sleep long enough for Thatch to buy it. Once he took it and laid back down, the sickly blonde watched as his brother pulled out a wet towel, squeezing it dry before putting the damp cloth on top of Marco's forehead. The cool sensation on his heated skin made the man hiss.

"When this is all over," he mumbled tiredly, hooded eyes looking up to the hand holding the towel to his forehead, "I owe you big time,"

Above him, Thatch snorted, and the bed dipped when the man sat down next to him, "Eh, you took care of me and my dumb ass since we're kids. It's only right I do this for you when it's your turn to be the dumb ass, rare as it is,"

Marco huffed, smiling slightly. It slowly faded away, "Feels like it's been happening far too often lately,"

The hand wiping his forehead faltered, but picked up its pace without a word. Marco closed his eyes again, listening to the calming drip of water as Thatch soaked the towel back into the bowl and squeezed it in span of seconds. When the newly wetted towel was once again placed against his skin, he heard the other man spoke, "Doesn't mean you have to push yourself like this," Thatch assured him, "It'll accomplish nothing, and I highly doubt that he'd appreciate it. Ace, I mean"

At the mention of Ace's name, Marco opened his eyes, fighting against the weight, "How'd you know that name?"

Thatch pursed his lips to keep it from what would be a full blown smile, teasing and amused, and maybe a touch concerned, "You talked in your sleep. Wasn't sure if you were just dreaming or you were delirious from your fever. Either way, it wasn't hard to figure out whose name that was," he chuckled, "That's what the 'A' stands for then? Ace?'

He gestured with his chin as he spoke, to the direction of the very same nightstand next to Marco. He didn't have to lift his head - and risk a worse headache to know that that's where his ring box went through after last night, "Ace Portgas. Would've added it in, but it felt a lot more personal for it to only be our names. Plus, the jeweller charged by the letter and i've spent way too much on it already,"

"How much?"

Marco grinned weakly, "You know the bonus I got after the promotion? Times that by 4, 5 if you want to add the insurance and engravings,"

The choking noise above him made Marco smile a little wider, "Wait, how much bonus did Pops and Roger gave you?"

"About 15%?"

"Fu— and you spend 5 times of that on a ring?!"

"Guess none of you can accuse me of being frugal now, can't you?"

"No shit," Even in his feverish state, it came to Marco's attention that his hand trembled as the pompadoured man took the ring box to his hand, like he was handling a particularly precious artefact instead of a garden-variety ring box. Then again, the content was quite precious to Marco, but Thatch was probably thinking more about the price, "Like, it's really gorgeous, so I know it's going to be pricey, but holy shit, I didn't think it's going to cost arm and legs,"

He was so hesitant in opening the box, failing to even pop it open correctly with jittery hands that Marco couldn't help but to laugh.

"It's not funny! Just thinking about how much you sink into this ring makes me woozy!" Thatch sputtered, finally giving up in trying to open it and simply held the box in his hand. The goateed man fell into silence and started turning the box around in his hand, simply staring with a contemplative look on his face. With a thumb, he caressed the top of the box, "Hasn't it only been 6 months, though? Don't you think you're moving too fast and planning things too early?"

Especially with how things went, something that was clearly implied yet was never voiced.

With a sigh, Marco removed the wet towel from his forehead - it has long since lost its coolness and was just dripping water now - dumping it wetly on top of the tray as he pushed himself up to a semi-sitting position. Thatch frowned at him briefly, but the motion, as well as the wave of dizziness following his move were ignored by Marco in favour of picking up the ring box from his hand, "It'll probably be much longer than 6 months by the time i'll be ready give it to him," he pried the box open, revealing the ring inside, "Maybe it'll be months, even years, but I know it'll happen eventually, so I don't see why not,"

Perhaps it was a pretty optimistic, even foolishly determined thing to say considering the current state of his and Ace's relationship. And Marco knew that that is exactly what Thatch was thinking, because without even looking up, he could feel the other man boring holes to him. After all, just yesterday, his brother had witnessed the aftermath of their relationship, and he was still cleaning up that mess until that very moment.

So it was with no surprise when Thatch awkwardly cleared his throat, and asked, "Are you still sure of that?"

Marco lifted up his head, his sight hazy and unfocused due to his affliction. Still, he met Thatch stare evenly, the edges of his lips curling slightly, "Yeah. Weird, isn't it?"

And he does. Maybe Roger's little pep talk was more effective than any of them realize.

Dropping his gaze back to the ring, Marco raised a clammy hand, cupping the small box that held the jewellery steadfastly between his palms, "That's why I can't let things ends the way they did," he muttered, exhaling at the increasing throbbing behind his eyes and on his temples. His effort to ignore the pain has made it much more determined to make itself known, "I need to… fix things. This can't be it for us,"

He felt a gentle squeeze to his shoulder, comforting on its own without any need for words. The box was pried out of his hand and placed inside of the top drawer, while he was pushed back down to the bed. This time, Marco followed the gesture without any protest, inhaling deeply when the pressure behind his eyes lessen as he laid on his back. "I need to go to him," he mumbled, fighting a loosing battle against his own consciousness, "Find Ace and… win him back,"

Marco slipped back into deep slumber, with the thought of Ace in the back of his mind.

* * *

When Marco first woke up - thankfully with less pain in his head but with extreme lethargy - he noticed that he was all alone in his bedroom.

That didn't take long for him to realize; what did take him a while, was figuring out that there is a sound of doorbell ringing, and that may be what woke him up.

Groaning, he sat up, wiping a hand down his face and wincing when he noticed how sweaty his skin was. The tray on his nightstand was long gone, along with the water bowl and towel, so he wiped his hand on his shirt - it's already soaked anyway, so might as well - and dragged himself to the entrance, trying his best not to bump into things with how much he is swaying. Where is Thatch? The man was nowhere in the apartment, and there were no notes about him leaving.

The doorbell chimed again. Marco sighed, "Yeah, i'm coming,"

He opened the door, wondering who it might be and quirked his brow when he caught sight of the person outside.

Thatch stood in front of the door, hand poised over the doorbell. The auburn haired man grinned sheepishly, "Sorry to wake you up, but I forgot my car key and your door key,"

"You're going home?" Marco asked as he let his brother in, closing the door once he's inside.

"And leaving you like this? As if," he told Marco as he quickly made his way to the shoe rack near the door, where he had indeed left his keys between Marco's other keys, "No, i'm just going to go to the grocery store. I'm was going to make dinner, but your kitchen's short of some stuff,"

Marco glanced towards the kitchen, "I thought there's plenty of stuff there?"

"Well, there's meat all over the fridge, if that's what you're asking. But there's hardly any vegetables or seasonings, and I need plenty of them," Thatch pulled out his phone, showing a long message thread, "Need to make some porridge, buy some fruits, medicines and herbal teas, oh, and Bay sent me her mom's special 'Stamina Soup' recipe, guaranteed to chase away any sickness. By the looks of the ingredients, it may also chase away anyone from eating it, but she assure me it taste better than it sounded,"

"That's a lot of stuff,"

"Well, you're going to need all of that if you want to get better as soon as possible,"

With keys and phone now pocketed, Thatch made his way back to the door. He stopped after opening the door, turning back to Marco with lips pursed, "Listen," he sighed, "I, I don't know how things will go. There's only two ways this could end, and i'm not going to be responsible for jinxing any of them. I hope for the best, that you'll get him back, that you guys could work out any of your issues, and I hope to god you'll finally be able to use that pricey ring,"

He clicked his tongue and ran his hand through his hair, no longer in its usual pomp, but instead kept neatly tied back with a rubber band. He's wearing a different shirt from the last time Marco saw him, probably one of his own that he might've left behind. A lot of time must've passed before he woke up, Marco realized, "But, in the case that it didn't," Thatch sighed, solemnly glancing up, "None of these drinking yourself to a coma, or shutting everyone out shit. Promise that you go straight to me," he pursed his lips, and shook his head, "I mean, I don't know what I can say or do to make it better, but at least i'll know you won't be wrecking yourself inside out. One time's enough,"

The sadness in Thatch's word tugged on Marco's heart. When he let the silence stretch too long, Thatch repeated, with emphasis, "Promise me, Marco," he gripped the door handle tighter, "I'm going to be there for you no matter what, so promise me I will never have to see my brother and best friend reduced to that ever again,"

There are times that Marco questioned why Thatch, out of everyone in their family and in the world, become his best friend. This is one of the rare moments he remembered exactly why, "I promise,"

And with that, the uncharacteristic sternness in Thatch's face was gone and replaced with a much more familiar grin, "I'll be back in about an hour or so, one of these ingredients I gotta pick up at Bay's place to make sure I got the right one. Go back to bed and don't you dare come out of it until i'm back!"

"You're the one who woke me up in the first place,"

"And now i'm telling you to go back to sleep. Go on, shoo!" and with that, he walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Still staring at the now closed door and empty entrance, Marco shook his head fondly. He was about to make his way back to the bedroom - his feet feels jittery just standing up still - when the door was knocked this time, rapidly and loudly. The blonde glanced at the door, frowning, "Who else could that be?"

Making his way back to the door, Marco opened it during a series of loud and incessant knocking, and almost stumbled back when the door was pushed open wider, "Whoa!"

"Sorry! Sorry!"

The blur that is Thatch made his way towards the shoe rack, loudly clacking his teeth while pulling out a pair of shoes to replace them with the sandals he was wearing, "No wonder it was so goddamn cold, I forgot my shoes! Marco, what the hell are you still doing up?!"

"You knocked on the door!"

"Well, go back to bed! I got your keys!"

"Then use them instead of knocking!"

"I forgot, okay, my feet were freezing!" as fast as he came in, Thatch left, slamming the door behind him but not before he managed to throw a near intelligible, "Go back to sleep or i'll kick your ass!"

Marco watched the now closed door, this time with exasperation, "What a caretaker, threatening to kick a sick person's ass," he mumbled to himself, making his way back to the bedroom. Thatch's entry has allowed cold air from the outside to seep into the apartment, and it was starting to make him shiver, and his sweaty body didn't help a little bit, "Maybe I should take a shower first…,"

He was still considering the benefit of a long hot shower and the possibility of cracking his head open in the shower with how faint he feels, when the door was knocked once again, this time a lot more subdued and calm. Marco groaned loudly, warily turning to face the offending wooden door, "I got your keys, he said," he grumbled, giving his bedroom a forlorn look before making his way back to the door, "Go back to bed, he said,"

Marco swung the door open with a sour expression, "Seriously?"

"Okay, so I might have taken the wrong key, but I swear that's all I forgot," Thatch slinked back into the apartment, taking Marco's door key for sure this time instead of the balcony key that he had apparently picked up by accident. They don't even look remotely similar to one another, "Okay, now i'm gone for real,"

"We'll see about that," Marco retorted, closing the door behind his brother to muffle the reply of 'I didn't do it on purpose!'. He stayed behind the door for a couple of minutes, making sure that Thatch's footsteps faded to the distance. Marco briefly braced himself when he heard footsteps approaching, but when there was no knock on his door, he dismissed it as one of his neighbours instead of Thatch coming back again, and pushed himself away from the door.

When the doorbell rang, loud and clear, Marco bit the insides of his mouth to keep himself from shouting in outrage.

"I swear, Thatch," he hissed his brother's name with full irritation, stomping back and pulling the door open with all of his might. What could he had forgotten this time, his own head? Maybe he actually would if it wasn't attached to his shoulders, "If you forgot something one more time, i'm going to beat—"

But, it's not Thatch.

"—The hell out of you,"

Wind tussled and at lost, Ace stood in front of his door, eyes wide from the outburst and the sight of an angry Marco that greeted him. Marco, for his own part, trailed off in shock, mouth left agape while his mind slowly registered who it is that he is seeing.

"I-is" Ace finally stuttered out, after a period of silence and staring, "Is it a bad time for me to come?"

"What? No," Finally snapped out of his stupor, Marco shook his head rapidly - giving himself an extra headache on top of his existing one - taking a quick step front reflexively in case Ace would walk away again, "No, no, I thought you're my brother. He's been— Never mind that. What—why are you—" suddenly, he couldn't even come up with a proper sentence. Ace is here, actually here, in front of him, even decked in Pops jacket. He wasn't ready, but at the same time, he knows he has to be just in case he won't get another chance, "Ace, listen, i'm sorry. For everything, you were right, I shouldn't have—"

"No, Marco, i'm the one who needed to apologize," Ace cuts through his rambling, taking a step forwards before hesitantly moving back again, "And _you_ were right. I was acting childish and unreasonable—"

"—should've talked about it to you—"

"—i've caused trouble for everyone, including you—"

"— I didn't realize how you feel about your dad and I and I never wanted to make you feel like you have to choose—"

"—but I shouldn't have took it all out on you. I swear, Marco, I didn't mean the things I said—

"—i never meant to put anyone over you, not even your parents, I was just trying to do things right by you—

"—And I know I don't have any rights to say thing after everything I did, but I never wanted to break up with you, Marco, can you please forgive me?"

"—just give me another chance, Ace, i'll do better, just give me one more chance, please,"

Panting from the barrage of confession and apologies, they stared at each other. Marco took in the sight of Ace's red rimmed eyes and the rosiness on his cheeks due to the weather, the little shudder in his words and he felt like he fell in love all over again when they both took in what the other said. He out a puff of breath, chuckling weakly, as the raven haired man of his dreams gave out a small, demure smile.

Taking a leap of faith, Marco extended one hand and grab a hold of one of Ace's, relishing the cool skin against his own before grabbing the other with his other hand. That was all that Ace seems to need, loosing all of his hesitation to more or less barrelled himself against Marco and wrapping both of his arms around the older's middle, "I'm sorry," he muttered again, face pressed against the taller male's neck juncture, "I'm so, so sorry,"

Marco leaned into the embrace, a cool wave of relief washing through him. He buried his head in thick black locks, arms wrapped around Ace's shoulders and back accordingly, "I'm sorry too,"

"I'll change, I promise I won't storm out again, or be childish, or get angry, I swear, I promise, Marco, i'm sorry, i'm so—"

"Ace," with a stroke on his back, he silenced Ace's rambling, pressing both of their foreheads together to allow him to stare deeply into Ace's eyes, forlorn and apologetic. He can't help but to smile, brushing away a stray strand of hair with a finger, "We _both_ made some mistakes, and we're both sorry for it. How about we move on from there and promise to be better for each other from now on?"

The younger pursed his lips into a pout, "But, aren't you angry at me?"

"After how many times you've said sorry since you arrived? I don't think I can stay angry for long," he replied with a lopsided smile, framing the side of Ace's face with one hand. The younger leaned to his touch eagerly, reminding Marco of a touch-starved kitten, "But I think I should be the one asking you that, Ace. Are you—"

"No, not one bit! I wasn't even angry at you in the first place! I mean, sure, I might've felt that, but I didn't mind! I know you mean well and I trust you! I should've never said otherwise!"

"But you still felt like I don't trust you, or that i'm making decisions for you?"

At that, Ace bit his lower lips, gazing down, "…I guess," he admitted reluctantly, before suddenly looking up again and almost bumping to Marco's forehead, "But that's why i'm going to change! I'll be less impulsive and immature, and i'll show you that I can be someone you can rely on! I'll be better, I promise!"

And even if Marco had no doubt that Ace's sheer stubbornness will actually make that a reality, the determination and conviction in his eyes were enough to make him think that it'll really work out. Roger was right, "We're both in this together," he said, tightening his hold around Ace's body and leaning down, the tips of their noses brushing like an eskimo kiss, "I'm not going to forget that anymore,"

Marco leaned down, and Ace met him halfway through, their lips locked and starved for contact as if it hasn't only been 2 days since they last saw each other. Breathless laugh and relieved sighs escaped them, both of them wrapped around each other so closely they might as well become one being. If any of his neighbours were to come out now, the blonde thought, they'll be treated to a rather scandalous sight.

Not that he cared much right now, when Ace was biting on his lips and clutching on to his shirt like he was a lifeline, while Marco slowly grew more and more lightheaded but determine to cure his longing.

But the lightheadedness, different from the sensation of relief eventually took over, and Marco faltered. He barely noticed Ace's confusion, inhaling deeply at the sharp pain that blooms in his head and the goosebumps that rose all over his skin. He would've fallen over if it wasn't for the door frame and Ace's tight grip on him. Panting, he leaned against the younger, willing the sudden pain to go away.

He's only distantly aware that he's being half carried inside - damn, Ace's muscles weren't just for show after all - and the next thing he knew, he was back in his bedroom, being ushered to his own bed. A hand was pressed against his forehead and the sides of his neck, the cool contrast to his feverish skin only helping by a fraction, "Oh god, you have a high fever, why didn't you say anything?!" Marco heard Ace exclaimed, followed by low mutterings, "Ace, you idiot, he was shivering the entire time, why didn't _you_ see it, stupid,"

Despite the surging headache, the blonde chuckled, "Don't worry, I forgot I was kind of sick,"

"Forgot?! Kind of?! Marco— Ugh! You're stupid too!" Ace berated hotly, and instead of feeling chastised, there was only elation in Marco's chest, "Stop grinning! Your shirt is soaked with sweat already, you'll get even sicker! Take it off!" the shirt was off without Marco having to do anything, only imitating a rag doll as the offending cloth was removed from his person and he was pushed down to the bed, blanket thrown over him to cover him up to his nose, "Have you taken any medicine? Did you take your temperature? Oh, what is it that Mom usually gave me for fevers? I have to cool you down, right?"

Blearily, Marco opened his eyes, peeking from underneath the blanket to see Ace panicking on his own, rushing to the bathroom where the medicines were placed. He was still mumbling to himself when he returned with numerous amounts of medicine bottles and strips, dumping them to the bedside table and scanning through each one, "Is it this one? Can migraine medicines be used for fevers? Ugh, i have to call Law and that bastard better answer this time. Wait, i have to keep you hydrated too! I'll go and get you something to drink,"

He was about to dash off again yet Marco caught him just in time by the wrist.

"Stay,"

Ace, face flushed and eyes wide, looked down on him incredulously, "But Marco, i need to—"

But Marco didn't let him finish, before tugging him to the bed. Weak as it is, Ace didn't fight it and he was grateful for that, "Just stay here," he repeated, squeezing the wrist in his hold, "Don't leave me again,"

The words escaped him in a fatigued blur, a simple request from a feverish man who didn't know the weight behind seemingly innocent words. But even edging in slumber, Marco was distinctly aware of Ace half laying on top of him, head pillowed on his shoulder from over the blanket, "I'm not going anywhere," he heard the whisper as he slowly drifted back to sleep, "I won't leave, ever again,"

It wasn't something he'd ever know, but Marco fell asleep with a faint smile on his face.

* * *

The first thing Marco noticed when he woke up this time was that everything was as hot as a furnace, and where there was light outside of the window before, there was absolute darkness now.

It took him a while to locate the reading lamp while fumbling blindly, and when there's finally a minimal illumination in the room, he finally saw the time - a lot later than he thought it was - and the reason for the extreme heat. Ace had slipped under the blanket - minus the jacket - and as past experience had taught him, the younger man had an abnormally high body temperature. The sheet underneath them was completely damp with sweat, the musk trapped underneath the tightly wrapped blanket over the two of them. He's definitely changing them, sick or not.

Marco looked down to the body wrapped around his, running his hand through Ace's hair carefully to prevent the raven haired male from waking up. He snorted in amusement, grateful yet lightly miffed as he leaned down to press a kiss on the damp locks, "You're going to get sick too, you know," he murmured to the sleeping figure, and in contrary to what he said, pulled Ace closer with an arm around the younger's waist.

His throbbing in his head was mild, but otherwise fine, one that will soon be taken care of once he took the appropriate medicine. With another peck to sweaty cheek, he removed Ace's arms around him, planning to scavenge through the medicine pile he had brought before to find an appropriate one before going back to sleep or wait for Ace to wake up. But the pile was no longer on his nightstand, only a glass of water and one single pill, along with a small paper right next to them.

The blonde stared at it in confusion - did Ace somehow managed to find the appropriate medicine after all? - until realization hit him like a brick. Thatch!

 _Imagine my surprise when I came back and found not one, but two people on the bed! Can I take that as a good sign? I'm going to take that as a good sign._

 _Btw, did you know sex is a good way to deal with sickness? Just some interesting facts. Though considering that the two of you are under the blanket and your shirt's on the floor, I think you know it already *winky face* You guys didn't waste too much time, did you?_

 _And no, i didn't check, what kind of sick pervert do you think i am? You're my best bro, but just, no._

 _Anyway, I left some food in the kitchen, eat up once you take this pill. I made extra for the cutie holding on to you like a teddy bear._

 _Call me if you need anything. Or don't, pretty sure you won't need me to be a third wheel *bolded winky face*_

 _Get well soon._

 _Oh, and congrats *extra bolded winky face*_

 _-Your favorite brother_

 _P.s: I met your boyfriend first! I'm gonna brag about this to everyone._

 _P.p.s:…Well, not really, you guys were asleep and I didn't even get a good look of him because you were kind of suffocating him (or was he suffocating himself on you?) but I know things they don't! Like his name! And that he has black hair! And freckles! Holy shit, the freckles are the cutest thing i've ever seen!_

 _P.p.p.s: Don't tell Izou that though._

 _P.p.p.p.s: Actually, it didn't matter. I get to meet him first right? Right? Right?!_

The incredulous laugh that escaped Marco woke Ace up, whining as he immediately latched himself on to the older's body, "What's so funny?"

"My brother was here and saw us," Marco replied with a snicker, shaking his head and putting the note back on the nightstand. Then, he picked the glass and pill, gulping the medicine down and draining the glass of its entire content. He groaned at the relief for his parched throat. On the corner of his eyes, he saw Ace picking the note up, squinting as he tried to read them with the light from the reading lamp.

He hid a smile when Ace sputtered, the paper crinkling in his hand, "You—I— We didn't do anything, you were sick and asleep!" he sputtered indignantly, pouting a little, "And i'm not cute. It's not my fault i got these freckles from Mom,"

"Keep lying to yourself," Marco told him, only to receive a pinch to his side, "He mentioned food too. I'm actually starving right now,"

"Stay in bed, i'll heat them up and bring them here," Ace leapt out of the bed before he could say otherwise, pressing a hand on his forehead, "Well, your fever's still there, but it's not as bad as before. Do you need anything else?"

Marco reached up for the hand, and pressed his lips against the back of it, "Can i get you to come back quickly?" he requested, laughing when he received a swat to his shoulder, "Just some water, thanks. And just stay in the dining room, we'll just eat there, i just want to take a shower and replace the sheets first. I've been sweating like a pig over it the whole day,"

"Are you sure you shouldn't be resting?"

"Ace, sleeping on that sheet again is going to make me sicker. And i've been resting the whole day so trust me, i'll be fine,"

Ace gave him a doubtful look, but eventually relented, pressing a light kiss to his lips, "Just don't strain yourself," he warned before walking away, leaving Marco to watch his back silently until he disappear from view.

* * *

"Dad said he wanted to meet you,"

In his shock, Marco began coughing, slamming a hand on his chest when a piece of food got into the wrong pipe. A glass of water and an apologetic Ace later, he took a deep breath and turned to the younger, "He said that?" he asked, eyes wide in disbelief, "W-what brought this on? I mean, i'm glad, but what made him changed his mind?"

"I don't know," Ace shrugged, "But he came today to apologize about how he's been acting, and he's even the one who encourage me about coming here today," then he frowned, head cocked slightly, "Actually, he was really adamant about it too. He was all like 'Go Ace, before its too late!' and i'm kinda glad he did. Otherwise, i think i'm just going to cry and wallow in my own stupidity the entire time instead of apologizing to you,"

He seems embarrassed with the admission, cheeks glowing red and gaze averted. Marco chuckled, pinching the younger male in the cheek while his mind tried to process this new information. Ace's dad, the bane of their relationship so far was the one who helped in getting them back together? Marco's not one to look at a gift horse in the mouth, but he can't help but to wonder what sort of miracle managed to change his mind.

"Once dad gave us his approval," Ace said even later than night, dressed in one of Marco's larger shirt as he waited for the older to finish brushing his teeth, "Do you think we can talk about… stuff?"

"What stuff?'

Marco exited the bathroom to see Ace nervously biting his lips, sitting on the bed against the headboard with his knees drawn up. The blonde sat down next to him, patiently waiting for Ace to continue, "You know," he finally said, pointedly trying to look away from Marco's general direction, "About us. About… living together, that sort of thing,"

It wasn't that Marco didn't have an inkling about what Ace was referring to in the first place, but when it was put into words like that, especially after what happened to them recently, it seems like both felt amazing and daunting at the same time, "You're saying that as if it's already a given that he'd like me," he said instead, chuckling slightly, "One thing at a time, Ace,"

"But dad already said he thinks you're a nice guy. He'll definitely like you even more once he met you, i know he will,"

And what can Marco say against such optimism? He reached over, putting a hand on top of one of Ace's bare knee, "I really hope so," he replied gently, "And once we're over that hurdle, we'll talk about it,"

Though Marco wasn't really sure what is there to talk about. Really, the only thing stopping him from going anywhere else in his and Ace's relationship was Ace's father. If things went well - and he hoped to everything out there that it will - then Marco will do anything; whether it was moving in, buying a house, a pet—

Marriage.

"Marco?" the soft call for his name pulled the blonde back to reality, "You zoned out there for a bit, are you okay?"

"Sorry, i was just thinking," he murmured distractedly, shaking his head. Oh boy, oh boy, he's getting ahead of himself again. A hand covered his, stroking the back of his hand. Marco smiled, leaning to his side to press a kiss to Ace, "I really hope everything went well,"

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around his shoulder when he leaned in for a kiss, pulling him close as Ace parted his legs to allow Marco some space to move in closer. He groaned when he realized that the shirt was literally the only thing Ace had on, sliding his hand from the younger's knee to the back of it while doing the same with his other hand, parting both supple legs ever further. Ace let out a part giggle, part gasp when Marco ran both hands down from the back of his knees and into his inner thighs, squeezing and groping as he goes.

In the midst of wet make outs and dry humping, Marco wasn't even aware that one of Ace's hand had wandered off, until he heard the drawer pulled open and said appendage began rummaging the content blindly. He didn't think much about it - that's where he kept the lube, and Ace knows it too - until Ace looked away from him, frowning, "What's this?"

Marco turned, eyes hazy with pleasure suddenly went wide with alert. In Ace's hand was a small box that cannot be mistaken as anything else than a ring box, and he was full on panicking when Ace tried to slide the top open with his finger, "No it's—!" without thinking, the older batted the box away, causing it to fall back into the drawer with a clatter, obviously from its content leaping out. Still panicking, he climbed off from Ace like he was on fire, putting the ring back into the box and slamming it inside the lowest drawer, "It was nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Was that a ring just now?"

"No, it wasn't!" he stammered frantically, but he knows just from Ace's frown that he wasn't buying it, "Well, yeah, but was…," Fuck, fuck, fuck, why?! Things had gone so well!

"Yeah?" Ace quirked a brow, glancing suspiciously at the lower drawer. Marco could see the glint in his eyes, and knows that if he stalled any longer, Ace will actually reach down to satisfy his curousity. And there is no way he's telling the truth, not about this one thing, and definitely not now. He had to think of something, quick, "Marco—"

"Thatch! My brother Thatch, he, he left it here,"

I'm so sorry Thatch, Marco thought to himself, wincing, but this is for the greater good.

On the bed, Ace glanced from the drawer and to Marco, "Your brother left a ring here, complete with its box?"

There is no going back, but he needs to think of something believable, something that makes sense, that does not include telling Ace what that ring actually was, "He's— he's leaving it here for safe keeping. You know, to keep it a secret, from his girlfriend," The girlfriend that Thatch haven't had for a couple of years now, "But he's afraid that she'll find it if he left it in his place, so he had me keep it here,"

Now if only he had the same insight as this imaginary Thatch.

Ace's mouth formed an 'o', "Good on him," he hummed thoughtfully, Even with his eyes curtained by his hair, Marco could still see Ace stealing glances to the drawer and to Marco, all in full contemplation.

Either he was curious, or he wasn't buying Marco's very obvious lie at all.

Then, the freckled male grinned up to him, "Can i see it?"

"No!" That came out way too harsh and panicky, Marco surprised even himself, "No, i mean, it's kind of… expensive and all. Even i hadn't open it after he showed it to me. Wanted to keep it clean and all of that,"

Before the younger can say anything else, Marco quickly dove in to the first drawer and picked up ta bottle of lubricant, before climbing on top of the bed again in record time. He leaned down hard, silencing Ace with a hard kiss, while busying his hand with the newly acquired lube. It worked, somewhat, when Ace spread his legs and wrapped his arms around Marco's neck, seemingly too deep into their intimacy to care about anything else. The topic never came up again, not when they were too busy with each other.

Marco would've sighed in relief if he could, but that'll be suspicious, so he masked his self-congratulatory as a pleasured groan while pushing into Ace's heat.

Dodged a real close bullet right there.

* * *

"Marco?"

Changing the sheet may be a little counter-productive, since they ended up drenching it once again in sweat and other bodily fluid by the end of the night. With hooded eyes, Marco glanced down to the mop of hair resting against his chest, sleepily humming in acknowledgement, "Yeah?"

Ace was quiet, and for a moment Marco thought he was just talking in his sleep, until he continued, "I'll work hard. Change and," a yawn, "be more mature, the likes,"

So maybe he really is a sleep talking. Marco smiled, running a hand through Ace's sweat damp hair, "I know, Ace. I know you will,"

"Then i can take care of you too, balance you out. You're shit at taking care of yourself,"

Marco couldn't help but to snicker at that, no even trying to deny it, "Alright, i'm counting on you,"

Another yawn, "I'll be the best boyfriend ever, then we'd never fight again, or have problems again,"

At this, the blonde could only smile sadly, "We won't know that, Ace. Sometimes, there's things outside of our control, it may not even be our fault," Ace whined, and Marco tussled his hair affectionately, "How about this, lets promise that no matter what will happen in the future, we'll both work through it and never give up on each other?"

Silence. He thought the other had finally fallen asleep, until a small murmur against his chest was heard, "I'd like that,"

"Good," he pressed another kiss to the crown of Ace's head, before closing his eyes, "Good night, A—"

"Marco?"

He stifled a sigh, "Yes, Ace?"

Instead of saying anything, Ace moved closer, pressed against him almost impossibly while burying his face fully on his chest. Marco could feel his lips moving against his skin as he spoke, "Can you promise me one thing?"

"What is it?"

"After we did all of that," his murmurs became weaker, as if he was already fighting against drowsiness and is slowly losing, "Will you show me the ring?'

Marco was frozen solid, his heart hammering against his chest.

And Ace, the little sneak, obviously heard it too, because he lifted his head just enough for Marco to spot the tired but sly smile on his face, before he positioned it over Marco's wildly beating heart, "Good night, Marco," he mumbled, before falling into a genuine deep slumber.

Meanwhile, Marco lay awake, eyes wide.

Yeah, he didn't buy it after all.


	9. Chapter 9

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Say what?"

He's been doing that the entire morning, and at this point, Marco is pretty sure that Ace is enjoying this.

His fever broke after last night - not surprising, he rarely got sick and when he did, it never took long for him to recover - but that headache was replaced with something else completely. Namely his own anxiety.

"You know," the blonde replied, hesitantly, "A-about last night? Are you really not going to say anything?"

Finally, Ace looked up from his (probably 8th) bowl of cereal, licking drops of milk from his lips. Marco had to admit, he's pretty good at acting clueless, if it wasn't for the smile that kept threatening to break out every now and then. Just like now, when the tip of his lips twitched, and he quickly hid it by biting his empty spoon, "Ace, come on," he wouldn't say he was whining, but he was pretty close to it at that point.

"Okay fine," finally, the smile won over on the raven haired male's lips. He extended an empty hand to reach Marco's own, "I'll say something about last night,"

Ace leaned in, puckering his lips a little to form a pout, "I want you to know, and remember this in the future," he began slowly, eyes staring steadily into Marco's own. Marco gulped, stomach filled with dread and anticipation for what the younger might have to say about the discovery from last night, until he saw Ace's lips twitched again, "Even sick and feverish, you're still the best fuck in my life,"

"Ace!"

"Best dick ever. And i'm not just talking about your condom size,"

"Oh my god,"

"Whatever downside there is, you made up for it with stamina and endurance. I've heard things about men your age, well, trust me, you don't have their problem,"

"Please stop, i'm begging you,"

Eventually, Ace did stop, even if he's still sporting that shit-eating grin on his face. Marco glowered at him, subtly hunkering forward. He sighed, when Ace did not spoke any further, "Fine, i'll stop asking," the blonde reluctantly said. The hand holding his gently squeezed, "Just answer this one thing for me, will you? Seriously, no jokes,"

Ace's smile was still there, but it was less in amusement and more in fondness, "Okay,"

Marco bit his lower lip, "I know we promised to work a lot of things out first, but is it okay with you? To know that i have _that_ thing?"

It's a little reassuring to see that Ace was still smiling after he asked, but Marco couldn't stop the hard pounding on his chest, "I think," The hand holding his squeezed a little harder, before slipping in between the space between his fingers, "That if anything, i like having something to look forward to,"

And just like that, the heavy weight on his shoulder was lifted. Marco heard Ace giggle as he sighed in relief, and this time, he joined in with a smile and little chuckles. Looking at Ace now, in his kitchen, casually eating out of a full bowl while wearing one of his sweaters and with an untameable bed hair, he supposed he has a point, "Yeah," he muttered, staring at their joined hands, "You're right,"

"Contrary to popular belief, i can be once in a while," The raven haired man lifted the now cereal-less bowl, gulping down the rest of the milk from the rim. He pushed the bowl away once he was done, and turned to Marco with a cat-like smile and stare, "Now then, are you going to be honest about that boner you've been hiding since i praised your sexual prowess to high heavens or do i have to pry it out from you?"

Needless to say, Marco was an honest man for the next few hours.

* * *

Despite how well things turned out to be, meeting Ace's father didn't happen quite as easily.

"He came back home drunk, and then he talked to himself the entire night as if he was possessed. Now he's in bed, whining about having a stomachache," Rouge sighed on the phone, and in that brief moment, Marco could hear someone's pathetic moaning somewhere distant from the phone. Next to him, Ace quirked his brow, muttering something about 'dad and his drinking', "But anyway, he might not be in tiptop shape to meet you now, i'm afraid. But let's do it next friday, here. By then, Ace's father would hopefully be mentally and physically ready, and i can prepare something nice for the two of you,"

(Marco swore he heard someone calling his name from the phone when he hang up that call, but he might be mistaken)

But perhaps it was the effect of the anticipation, but the week went too slow for Marco's liking. Still, there are other things that needs his attention other than the impending meeting with Ace's father.

For example, there was the fact that Thatch truly meant it when he said he was going to gloat, and come Monday, the blonde was accosted by several different people, even those who weren't officially Edward Newgate's adopted children. At least 30 different question was levelled at him at the same time, half asking about when they get to meet 'brother-in-law' and half complaining that Thatch of all people get to see him first. Izou had been the most vocal about the latter, and the entire week, both him and Thatch had to suffer the man's cold shoulder and sharp glares.

It was worse when it comes to work. Roger didn't come in once during the entire week, supposedly taking a sick leave and that leaves Marco doing part of his workload. Pops came in on the second day to take over a little, and that gave everyone in the building a great shock. Partly because he rarely came to the office since his part of the job mostly involves external matters, and mostly because the giant man, father to some of the employees, came in that morning sporting a rather nasty bruise on the side of his face.

"Just some roughhousing with a friend of mine," was his only explanation, grinning wider than a cheshire cat, "But it's all good. He blew off some steam and i get to have my share of fun. We all learn something from this experience,"

"What experience?" Marco asked him, arms crossed and brows furrowed, a posture mimicked by some others in the room.

Edward let out a booming laughter, never quite replying to their questions. But when they all leave to continue with work, the old man pulled Marco aside to give him a wink, "Good luck. You won't need it, but good luck,"

After 30 years, he figured that he should be used to his father being vague as shit.

Friday comes like a dawning realization. Marco woke up that morning to a text message from Ace, who wished him good morning as always but also with a little line to remind him not to be too nervous. He dressed up to the nines, wearing his best suit, best dress shirt, best tie, even spent an extra 10 minutes to shine his loafers and gel his hair. The last thing on that list failed miserably, so the blonde spent an entire half an hour showering again, and by the time he was ready to leave, he was already an hour late to work.

Every heads were turned to his direction when he stepped into his floor, the same way everyone has been reacting to him ever since he stepped out of his apartment building this morning.

"Looking good, good looking," Izou commented with a flirty tug on the blonde's tie when he passed by the effeminate male on the way to his office. Next to him, several female employees giggled approvingly, "If you weren't my brother, i would've snagged you for myself. Big occasion?"

Marco glanced around. Like he expected, half of the people on the floor was looking at him, and the other half were trying to pretend as if they weren't listening, "Pretty big," he admitted, smiling slightly, "I'm meeting my boyfriend's dad tonight,"

It was just a small confession, just answering Izou's equally innocent question. But somehow, the moment he said it, it was like a bomb had gone off. Nearly everyone started flocking around him, patting his shoulder - his painstakingly pressed suit - and ruffling his hair - the hair he spent 10 minutes trying to comb the right way - while everyone else whooped and congratulate him. In the midst of that chaos, Thatch poked out of the crowd and actually tried to lift him, succeeding with the help of Atmos, Jozu and Kingdew.

"He finally did it!" the auburn haired male announced, like a victory cry, "He actually did it! He got through to the most difficult father-in-law in the world!"

"I thought we all agree Roger gets that title?"

"He's mellow around Marco, so he only got runner up position. But it doesn't matter! Our brother has done it!"

His announcement was met with great triumphant bellows and cries. The place was looking more like a zoo than an office as far as Marco was concerned, and lifted off from the ground, he tried to preserve what dignity he had left and shouted, "This is still working hour, everybody get back to their desk! And stop patting me! I had to iron my suit 5 times before i got it perfect!"

But of course, he was only one man versus a slew of cheering people. Not even Pops, who came out of the Roger's office did anything to stop the ruckus, simply hanging back with a big grin on his face.

Throughout the day, Marco was stopped by various people, even those from different sections and floor, congratulating him and wishing him luck. Older people would sometimes take most of his time parting their own experience during their own family introduction, while younger ones would give him a smile as they pass. On one hand, it was heartwarming to know that so many people were rooting for him, even those who he rarely interacted with, and that gave him the confidence boost he needed.

On the other hand, that means that many people also know of his personal life, and come next Monday, after everything is over and done with, he's going to do a building wide sweep over who is the source of all of this.

Starting from the people on his own floor.

* * *

"Good luck, Marco!"

"Good luck!"

"Break a leg!"

Was the greeting that he received all the way to the elevator from various people. Marco shook his head, not quite hiding the smile on his face. He had to go and pick Ace up first, then they'd be on their way to his parents' house. Rouge had texted him the address and everything, even sending a few pictures of the giant pot she used to cook with, jokingly comparing them to her son's. In the last text, she told Marco that she made enough for a small army, not only to sustain her husband and son's appetite but also his.

 _'_ _I had the feeling you'd be too nervous to eat the entire day. Don't hold back, just so you know, Ace's father greatly respects other people's appetite'_

The rumbling from his empty stomach more or less proved that she hit the nail on the head.

"Marco, good luck! It'll work out, i just know it!"

The blonde turned to Haruta, who with several other people, peeked out from the office area to send their well-wishes. As the elevator's door open, he sent one last wave to them, "Thanks. I'll see you guys next week,"

"You bet! And you better tell us everything! And let us meet him!"

Before Marco could give them a reply, the door closed.

Back in the office, everyone left looked at each other, then back at the now closed elevator door, "Think this is the end of it?" Doma asked amongst them, crossing his arms, "Think by next week things will go back to normal? No more cloud, grumpy bosses and gossip chains?"

"Aw, i'd miss the gossip chain," Haruta pouted, scrolling through his phone.

"We can only hope," Blenheim replied, "We all wish him luck, but the end decision is still on that boyfriend's dad. We all know Marco's a good guy, but we have no idea just how stubborn the boyfriend's dad could be, "

"Lets just cross our finger and hope for the best,"

Thatch sighed, a fond smile on his face as he crossed his arms behind his back, "Man, either way, i'm just happy for them. Marco gets to meet his boyfriend's father, and Pops said that Roger is finally accepting to his son's boyfriend. Happy ending for everyone,"

Everyone around him voiced their agreement, before slowly descending to silence.

From next to Thatch, Vista twirled his finger around one of his moustache, humming, "Anyone else keeps get the feeling like we're missing something really obvious?"

Once again, everyone in attendance muttered their agreement, a little more enthusiastically.

* * *

They were supposed to arrive in Ace's parents' house by 7, and the trip would take at least half an hour. By 6.40, Marco wasn't even halfway to their destination, even when he drove with a speed that nearly break the law.

He would've glared at Ace if it wasn't a driving hazard, and also, if he wasn't partially at fault. As soon as he arrived at Ace's house and they walked back into his car, the younger decided that it is appropriate to tell him that he looked good that day in ways that does not involve words. Marco, usually the responsible one, would've tried to at least stop him, if it wasn't for the fact that Ace himself looked particularly irresistible, and needless to say, he'll need to clean his backseat later.

With some miracle, they actually arrive in the parents' house with 5 minutes to spare, and Marco used that time to take in several deep breaths and frantically try to hide any possibly hickeys poking out of his neck.

"Marco, you look fine. Damn fine, even," Ace told him, rubbing on his shoulder.

"Ace, if your father can tell that we had sex less than an hour before we met him, i'm doomed. In fact, i'm doomed already, Pops can always tell whenever his kids had gone down and dirty, your dad's probably the same. Is that something all fathers can do? Oh god, oh god—"

His ranting was finally cut off by a pair of hands framing his face and pulling him to a searing kiss that nearly sucked out his soul. There's a screaming on the back of his head that told him that this'll only make things worse, until Ace started biting on his lower lips and it was slowly forgotten. By the time the kiss ended, Marco was crossed eyed and Ace was laughing at his face, "Relax," the younger whispered, using his thumb to caress the elder's slightly bruised lips, "It'll be okay,"

Marco nodded dumbly.

His reaction made Ace laugh even more, "We should be going," he said, letting Marco go. With one more nod, the blonde was about to reach for the door handle when Ace suddenly called from behind him, "Wait, wait! I forgot!"

When Marco turned back, he saw that Ace had pulled out his phone and had the camera app running. The reflection staring back from Ace's camera looked absolutely ridiculous, since he looked both confused and uncomfortable at the same time. Compared to him, Ace looked cute and photogenic, with a big toothy grin and a peace sign, "We have to take a picture first. I want to post a picture of you on my twitter, finally,"

"I thought you took pictures of me before?"

"Yeah, but it's for my collection. I never get to actually post a picture of you before," once he was satisfied with the angle, Ace snapped a single picture. He looked amazing, yet Marco looked like he was dealing with a particularly tricky puzzle with how confused he looked, "Dad probably thinks i didn't know, but some of my followers are actually his employees and some of them are really good at looking things up. Usually, the people i dated were around my circle of friends so that's probably how he found them so easily, but with you, i don't want to take any chances,"

"The hell did your father work as? A detective?"

"No, he's the CEO in a big company," Another picture snapped. This time, Marco wasn't even looking at the camera, but his bewildered face was immortalised digitally next to Ace's much more normal one. Once the picture was saved, the raven haired man turned to him to loop an arm around his neck, "Say cheese!" the younger cheerily said, his thumb moving to the capture button. Marco reflexively turned to the camera, and this time, he made an effort to actually look decent.

"Cheese..?"

There was an attempt, at least.

The screen of the phone flashes, at the same time as Marco felt something soft and wet pressing against his cheek, startling him. Ace laughed at his apparent confusion, pulling his phone back and then laughing some more, thrusting the phone screen on to Marco's face. As expected, the picture looked ridiculous, if only because of him. Ace had his eyes closed, looking cute while pressing his puckered lips against the older man's cheek, while Marco honestly wanted to question if he really looked that sleepy in reality.

There is a reason why he didn't take too much pictures of himself on daily basis.

"I'm posting this!" Ace said with loud cackles, pulling up the social media app and indeed, placed the ridiculous series of picture in his post. Marco also caught him posting up a picture that was obviously taken in secret, one that shows Marco frantically driving on the highway. With the pictures, he added a caption on the text box, and Marco will never understand how people can type on their phones that fast.

 _'_ _Finally bringing the bf home to the 'rents. I'm actually pretty nervous, but he's freaking out enough for the two of us. Wish me and Marco luck!'_

"I wasn't freaking out that much," he commented as Ace posted the pictures, "I'm just… worried,"

Ace snorted, pocketing his phone once more and pressing a chaste kiss on his cheek, "Sure you are," he pinched the very same cheek, before finally opening his door, "Well, lets get this over with,"

The walk from the driveway to the front door was short, but during that short moment, Marco was beginning to think that Ace was right, he was freaking out. After all, his relationship with Ace might as well hinges on this very day. But they were already several minutes late, he was sure that his lips is so obviously bruised from a kiss, and with horror, he noticed that while he himself didn't have any obvious hickey, Ace did, peeking from under his collar.

He really wanted to bail, claiming sickness to postpone the meeting and met on the day they are both much more decent and he wasn't a nervous wreck, but as they approached the front door, Ace smiled at him, and Marco halted all thoughts. Right, he can't afford to back down now, not after everything they did to get here. It's now or never.

With that conviction, he rang the doorbell, and almost immediately, his phone began buzzing and chiming uncontrollably.

"What's that?" Ace asked him, peering curiously to his pocket. Marco pulled his phone up, recognizing the ringtone for his text message. Instead of the usual little tune however, it sounded like a broken record because instead of just one text, there were multiple of them, and they are still coming in heaps. Marco could see at least 6 different names texting him repeatedly, and after a while, his phone notification gave up and simply told him that he had new 30 text message and counting.

Some of the names that he caught had been people from the office, and the blonde frowned as he opened the messaging app. Are they trying to send him good lucks again? Because as thoughtful as that was, he didn't quite have the time to—

 _'_ _MARCO YOU PIECE OF SHIT HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL US?!'_

 _'_ _IT WAS YOU?!'_

 _'_ _IT WAS YOU THIS WHOLE TIME?!'_

Was the very first series of message he received, coming from Izou, one that he had no idea what it could possibly referred to. In fact, all of the messages he received were in the same vein as Izou's. Haruta's had been the most illegible, something that looks like he had just smashed his phone's keyboard on random, and the single legible text reads _'I DID NOT SEE IT COMING OMG, HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO US MARCO I THOUGHT WE'RE ALL BROTHERS?!'_

"The hell are they talking about?" he muttered, scrolling past the still growing number of text. He contemplated replying to one of them instead of everyone to ask what is going on, until he came across Thatch's. He clicked it open.

 _'_ _BRO WHAT THE FUCK'_

 _"_ _THE FUCKING FRECKLES! I KNEW IT! I KNEW THOSE FUCKING CUTE FRECKLES WERE FAMILIAR!'_

Marco turned to Ace, who was looking over the series of text over his arm. He pointed at his own facial marks, "Is he talking about me? That's the brother that was in your house, right?"

"Yeah, but i'll be honest i have no idea what he's talking about either,"

He was about to press the option to reply when the door was opened and Rouge, dressed in an elegant, light coloured dress stepped out from behind the door, "Oh you two are right on time," she happily greeted, pulling Ace and Marco to a hug and pressing a kiss to both of their cheeks. Ace complained a little, while Marco received the gesture with more grace, "Come in, come in! Ace's father is already pacing in the living room,"

Marco gulped noisily, "I-is he now?"

Rouge nodded, and there was something in the way she was smiling that both relaxed and unnerved Marco, "He is. In fact, why don't you two wait here and i call him. I'm sure you'd want to meet him, Marco," she said with a dainty little giggle, that was sweet and not at all suspiciously sly. She left with a flair on her skirt, clapping her hands together, "Oh, i can't wait, i knew it, i just knew it,"

Next to him, Ace raised his brow, "What's with Mom? She's unusually cheery," then he pouted a little, glancing at Marco, "Then again, it was probably you're here. Told you she loves you more than she loves me,"

Marco wanted to tell him that it wasn't true - while being equally confused about her behaviour - when his phone suddenly rang in his hand. He glanced towards the screen to see that it was a call from Thatch, and glanced at the direction Rouge had left to before picking it up, "Thatch, this is really a bad time—"

"No, no, it's not a bad time! Marco, your boyfriend— Oh my god, i can't believe i didn't see it the first time, i'm so stupid!"

What is he going on about now? He shook his head, glancing at Ace, who was staring curiously at his phone, "Yes, as you and everyone else in my life knows, apparently, i'm going to meet my boyfriend's dad right now. I'll call you back later, alright?"

But Thatch was still adamant, even speaking louder, "No! No it's not alright, you don't know who it is you're dating!"

"The hell are you on? Of course i know who i'm dating, he's my boyfriend for god's sake," He frowned even further, as Ace cocked his head.

"Stupid, no! I mean his name! You got his name wrong!"

Seriously, what is with him? "What do you mean i got his name wrong, his name is Ace Portgas,"

"Oh, um, actually," now Ace piped up, eyes wide for a moment before he looked up at Marco sheepishly, "I never did told you, did i? My surname wasn't really Portgas. That was Mom's maiden name,"

Marco blinked at him, and Ace's cheeks started turning red under the scrutiny, "Oh, really?" over the phone, Thatch had gone quiet, presumably hearing Ace's confession as well.

"Yeah. I know it was kind of childish of me," the raven haired male pouted a little, "But, i was really pissed off at dad for bailing on mom back then, and i kind of hate him at the time too so i refused to use his family name. I know, it was really stupid, but i guess it kind of slipped my mind to tell you about that,"

"Huh," because what else do you say when you learn something like that? "Okay,"

"Okay?!" Thatch screamed from his phone, startling Marco into nearly dropping the device, "No, it's not fucking okay!"

"Thatch, he forgot to tell me his real surname. It is pretty irresponsible," at this, he glowered at Ace, who shrunk a little with the same sheepish expression, "But it's not a crime and it's definitely nothing life changing,"

"It'll change your entire fucking life, that's what it'll change! Because your boyfriend's actual name is—"

"Ace Gol?"

The very first thing that entered Marco's mind was that, that voice does not belong here. And the second thing that entered his mind as he turned to the direction from where the voice came from, eyes wide and fingers slack around his phone, was that that face staring back at him was _definitely_ not supposed to be here.

But this wasn't a fever dream, or some imagination running wild. No, it was all too clear and vivid, in the form of dark hair and great moustache, with eyes and a smile holding too much amusement on his predicament that it was none other than his boss, his employer, one of the people who called him friend, and someone who had become a trusted confidant and vice versa.

Marco had never felt weaker in his entire life.

Roger Gol, father of Ace-apparently-Gol, and Marco's dreaded father-in-law grinned widely, arms crossed, "Looks like we both kept our promises, huh, Marco?"

Right next to a white as sheet Marco, Ace looked between the two of them, to the phone Marco has dropped and has now become disconnected, and to his mother, who was hiding her smile behind her hands, "So," he started slowly, pointing at Marco and then to his father, confusion much more palpable, "You two, like, know each other?"

-END-


	10. Epilogue - Part 1

WARNING: Bit NSFW in the middle, nothing too graphic but you never know.

* * *

When the elevator door opened in the middle of break time, nobody spared it a glance. People come and go to enjoy their break, nothing unusual was to beheld.

At least, until they noticed that the figure escaping the metal contraption was not a familiar face; rather it was not the familiar face of a fellow co-worker.

The sudden eerie silence around them brought pause to Roger in the middle of his words, gazing up to see what is so interesting it gripped the attention of everyone around the floor. As soon as he caught sight of the approaching figure, the moustached man let out a wide grin, shoving the papers he had been holding to his conversation partner, hitting the poor man on the stomach.

"Aww, my boy's here to see me," Roger exclaimed happily, spreading both arms widely as he strode over to Ace, a large, affectionate grin on his face, "You even brought me a gift— Oof!"

"Hey, Dad. No, i'm not here for you," Ace told him in passing, shoving the moustached man away with a single hand before his father could pull him into what most likely would be a bone-breaking embrace. He then grinned, skipping towards his father's dumbfounded conversation partner instead, still coughing from the harsh blow to his middle, "Marco, you forgot your lunch," he announced cheerfully, offering the blue container in his hand. From the transparent lid, one could see the near charred slush inside, and could tell that it was bordering on inedibility.

Above the sight that made Thatch green on the face, Marco shuffled the papers in his hand before accepting the offered lunch, smiling, "Sorry. I was on a rush this morning. You didn't have to go all the way here to give it to me,"

"I don't think you have to do anything else but throw that thing away," Thatch mumbled on the side, as he shuffled away awkwardly to join a group of eavesdropper just near where he had been standing, paying attention to the dejected look on Roger's face at his own son favoring someone else.

Ace grinned wider, a slight flush on his face, "I don't mind. I like coming to your workplace,"

"Should i forget my lunch more often then?"

"Hmph, keep doing that and i'll start thinking that you don't like my cooking,"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Marco said with a light kiss on Ace's forehead, and nobody could blame the severe twitch under Roger's eyes.

"The sad thing is, i think he meant that," Jozu muttered right next to Thatch, being one of the rare people whose eyes cannot be torn away from the sight of the squirming mess that was supposed to be Marco's lunch. Nearly everyone in the building, even occasional clients has seen said series of cooking, whether through their own eyes or a sneakily taken picture, and it was still a wonder to most how Marco could honestly consume them. Whitey Bay once suspected that he threw them away once Ace has his back turned, but Thatch, as well as a few other unfortunate souls has caught the blonde man eating them with gusto.

Thatch was starting to suspect that it was less about Marco being lovestruck and more to the fact that he may be suffering from a severe case of defective taste buds.

It has been nearly two weeks since the _Great Gol Revelation -_ as dubbed by most of the people in the office - and the detail of _that night_ was left a mystery even to the greatest sleuth amongst them - much to Haruta and Izou's chagrin. No matter how many poking and prodding, neither Marco nor Roger was forthcoming about their 'first meeting'. The bruise on the side of Marco's jaw was honestly concerning for the first few days, but since both were seen talking and laughing with each other, the matter was dropped.

Still, whatever did happened, and despite their initial outrage for being put out of the loop - Marco still insisted he has no idea that Ace is Roger's son, but no one believed him - not a lot could still maintain their anger when their brother obviously looks so happy. Ace had been introduced to them formally as well, both as their boss' son and as their brother's boyfriend, gaining immediate approval from the family. Pops was particularly fond of him, spending hours to regale him in stories of his father's exploits and of Marco's childhood, much to both's horror.

Interactions between Marco and Roger hardly changed, if only with slight more awkwardness on the younger's part and a bit more familiarity on the older's. At least, it is whenever Ace wasn't around to provoke Marco's inner romantic and caused Roger to have an aneurysm while watching them, but they maintain a good relationship for two people who unknowingly had feuds against each other for quite some time.

For everyone who was watching from the sidelines, seems like everything did ended up well.

Smiling, Ace tugged on the hem of his jacket - Pops' jacket, easily recognisable by every single one of Edward Newgate's adopted children in the vicinity - and fidgeted slightly on his feet, "So uh, i was wondering, do you think you can get off early from work today? Koala found the place where they sold those new coffee table you wanted, but it's pretty far from the city centre. We could bring it home before the new TV comes in tomorrow,"

Marco glanced at the papers in his hand, "I don't think i have much left to do today," he chuckled, "You guys probably needs some extra hands with the moving in,"

Only eyes trained to Roger could see the twitch above his eyebrow at the mention of 'moving in'. In fact, if one watched him longer, they'll notice the twitch on his upper lips, like he wasn't sure if he should be making a scowl or a smile and ended up with the most constipated expression the world has ever seen.

"Nah, all the heavy lifting's done. Between Zoro and Kid, we won't have problem moving an entire house in if we have to," the freckled male hummed thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side, "They were moving the new mattress in when i left,"

"Ah, it finally came in? Good, i was getting tired of sleeping on the old one, makes my back hurts lately,"

"Yeah, but Sabo said that might also because of the bed frame,"

"Why? I guess it's a little creaky, but i don't see why—" Marco trailed off, and those who could see Ace's face - so, everyone - was amazed by how quickly the blush spread across freckled cheeks. Doubly so when the same red flush spreads on Marco's face, "Oh. Yeah, that's— Well, we haven't been easy on it lately, have we?"

Roger let out a choking sound that reminds one of a toad being stepped on.

That seems to be enough to remind Marco of his surrounding, because immediately, he widened his eyes, staring at Roger as if the choking and wheezing man was the fear of god itself. Roger's own son didn't seem to have the same inhibition, however, "Oh grow up, dad. We're living together now, what do you expect?"

"I expect not to hear anything about beds and… things associated with it! I'm still your father, you know!"

Marco choked, while Ace retorted, "Maybe you should get your head out of the gutter instead! And this is a private conversation, serves you right for eavesdropping!"

"You're in the middle of the office! My office!"

Mostly well.

"Them dating getting on your nerves?" Thatch asked an hour later, in lieu of offering Roger a glass of water. Despite Marco's insistence that it wasn't necessary, Roger had allowed him to leave early - especially at Ace's insistence - and both should be on their way across town now, to buy a new coffee table and, much to Roger's unending exasperation, a new bed frame.

Roger peered up from behind the curtain that is his hair, accepting the offered glass and downing half of it in a single gulp, "I could do with just knowing that they're together and none of the rest of the details," He had been sulking in his office ever since Marco and Ace left, half-heartedly reading Marco's report before he was allowed to leave. That report was now tossed to the side, while stamped and signed, not receiving the usual amount of courteous such important paperwork would usually be treated with, "I swear, the moment Marco's around it's like i'm not even there,"

"To be fair, when they're around each other, plenty of things didn't seem to register to them,"

"Yeah, but i think Ace is still pissed off at me and he's doing that on purpose," the raven haired man grumbled, "Must be because the whole punching Marco thing,"

"Huh, ye— Wait, you did what?"

Roger waved his hand, "Eh, it's alright, it was for a good reason. And we made up for it," he sighed, downing the rest of the liquid in the plastic cup. Thatch's mind was still reeling upon this new revelation, but as Roger began to speak again, he shook his head and mentally reminded himself to ask Marco later, "But then again, things could've gone much worse, so at least there's that,"

"Worse like, Ace's boyfriend was someone else other than Marco?"

It was just a small joke, but it caught Thatch off guard when Roger shook his head, "It's a happy coincidence but i think that even if the guy who turned up that night was not someone i know, if he's a decent person, i would've been okay with it," he grimaced, shaking his head, "Would've been hard as hell to do, but i would've been okay with it now. As long that he can guarantee my son will be happy, that's all i need from whoever his boyfriend might turn out to be,"

Roger nodded with conviction and Thatch smiled.

He's going to miss making all of that 'overprotective dad' jokes about Roger.

"Still!" The sound of the table being slammed jolted Thatch out of his thoughts, whipping his head to quickly find Roger wearing a pained and tortured expression, "I could do with getting some respect. Pushing me away like that, I'm his dad, for god's sake, i missed him! He hadn't had a blasted time for me or his poor mother since this entire 'moving in with Marco' business! And Marco, that bastard, every time i offered to help out it's always 'No, it's okay, it's a lot of heavy work, i don't want you to injure yourself' How old does he think i am?! Just because i got up in age doesn't mean i wasn't as spry as i used to be! No respect! No respect at all, i tell you!"

Ah well, he can think of a new joke.

* * *

The beer bottle was large enough that it wouldn't fit in one hand, but downing its content is another level of challenge. The taste was rather bitter, which by itself wasn't a problem, but he was never a big drinker in the first place and finally, after feeling like he was going to drown in fermented drink, Marco gave up, coughing violently.

Next to him, Ace booed before asking if he was alright, but Marco was too busy alternating between coughing and staring at the hulking man in front of him tilting his head further and further back, chugging down the content of a similar looking beer bottle. Once the last drop was drunk, the bottle was slammed down to the table, making the newly bought fiberglass coffee table shook violently under the sudden weight and force.

"Yeah!" Eustass Kid celebrated, pointing at Marco with a smug grin, "In you face, old man!" he exclaimed, before opening his mouth once again to let out a loud and ridiculously long belch. He let out an uproar of laughter, followed soon by Luffy's loud whooping.

Law shook his head in disgust, sneering at both of them, "You're disgusting,"

At the comment, the redhead wagged his brow, and only managed to pull a larger sneer from the raven haired man when he tried to lean over for a kiss. Everyone in the room laughed as Law pushed Kid's face away with one hand harshly, before walking away to the direction of Marco's kitchen. For a second, Kid looked dejected, before he grinned lecherously, watching the lanky man's retreat, "Man, I hate seeing him go, but I love watching him leave,"

Marco heard Ace snorts next to him, "There's nothing to watch when he's leaving, you're blind, Kid,"

"Hey, some men likes it small and perky, alright? Fits in your hands nicely," the redhead grin, before turning to Marco, "I bet you like some extra junk in the trunk, don't you? Something to hold on to at night? Bit of a bounce around the meat? Something _thick?_ " as if he needed to make his point even clearer, the redhead motioned with his hand, making a cupping gesture and started squeezing. He even leered at Ace, wagging his brows. Any other time Marco would've taken offense at that - nobody looks or talks about his boyfriend like that - but Ace merely grinned back and he reminded himself that this is a group of close knitted friends and this is just probably one of his unique way to include and help Marco adapt with them. Besides, Kid's own boyfriend was just a few feet away, in the next room.

Who obviously have heard of the comment, because Law returned with one bottle in his hand, which then he proceed to thunk over Kid's thick red mane none too gently, "Been staring at someone else behind my back?"

Without even skipping a beat while rubbing his aching head, Kid grinned and wagged his brows, "If i ever see your back, trust me, i will be staring at nothing else but that," Law rolled his eyes as he sunk back to the chair, but Marco caught the small pleased smile on his lips before he covered them behind the bottle.

Over Luffy's whispered question about what they're talking about - and Zoro's stammering answer - Ace smiled lopsidedly and latched an arm around Marco's shoulder, moving closer that he half-climbed the older's lap, "Of course he does," he said, tone smug, "Unlike you, he's got some taste,"

Instead of being insulted, Kid grinned wider. He opened his mouth, probably with another veiled sexual comment when Law beat him to the punch, "Oh, Eustass got some _taste_ , i assure you. I'm surprised that Marco's bold enough to get some too," he paused, the corner of his lips curling while leaning closer to Kid in a pose that was not unlike Ace's own, "I'm more surprised you know anything about 'taste',"

There's a hint of challenge in the tanned raven's tone, which almost make Marco choke on the drink he had finished minutes ago, though Ace didn't have the same problem as him. Looking at the indignant frown on Ace's face, Marco was reminded of Sabo's explanation a while ago about the odd rivalry between Ace and Law, and wondered if he is about to witness the start of one of those supposedly infamous rows.

He caught Kid glancing at him from over the two ravens, sending him a look that could be translated as 'just sit back and enjoy'.

But before he could say anything - or take Kid on his advice - a pained groan sounded on his side, "Can we please not? There's literally kids here," Koala snickered while Sabo simply looked pained next to her, gesturing to the spot on the floor that Luffy and Zoro occupied. Not that the 'kids' seems to be paying attention to them, seeing that Luffy was still adamantly waiting for a reply for his earlier question while Zoro was slowly transforming into a stammering tomato.

"What trunk? Why would you bounce on meat instead of eating them? And taste of what? Is there food here?"

"Uh, Luffy, i don't—"

Sabo pointedly ignored the hapless look Zoro started sending him, staring deadpan at the three on the other end of the sofa, "Anyway," he continued with a sigh, patting on Koala's back when the girl choked herself while laughing, "Today's the last of the stuff we need to move, right? Everything else that belongs to Ace has either been donated or sold so the room's ready to be used by someone else,"

Ace turned to him, "Wait, you already found a new tenant?"

The blonde nodded, gesturing once again to Luffy and Zoro - who was now doing a perfect impression of a tomato, "Dragon said it'll be for the best. He's always away for business and Grandpa Garp spent more time in the base than at home anyway so this way, Luffy won't be all alone. Plus, Law and I can drive him to school if so he won't be late every single time,"

"I'm not always late, Zoro's just kept getting lost all the time!"

"I'm never lost, you just can't follow directions,"

As the two continue to squabble - all questions from before seemingly forgotten by Luffy - Ace sighed, leaning against Marco's shoulder, "Man, i can't believe i won't be living with you guys anymore," he glanced between Sabo and Law, before looking up to grin at Marco, patting the blonde's cheek, "Well, i'm getting a better roommate anyway, so it's not that bad,"

Next to him, Sabo snorted while Law harrumphed, "You weren't that good of a roommate anyway. At least now, nobody's going to keep mistaking my food for their own,"

"Uh, you're going to live with Luffy?"

Law paused a little, clicking his tongue, "Fuck. Any chance you want to move back in?"

"Nope,"

Another tongue click.

Next to him, Kid cocked his head, eyes darting as if he was avoiding to look at anyone in the room. Considering he had been wise-cracking and gleeful before, this odd change in behaviour immediately caught Marco's attention, "Well you know, Killer moved out too recently to apartment on top of mine," he said non-sequitur, rubbing the back of his neck, "And i don't hog food. And i can abstain from bread,"

"I know he is, you told me this at least 5 times now. Are you developing early onset dementia?"

"…No. Forget i said anything,"

Now, recent events may have taught Marco that he might be quite thick about certain things - something that Pops will not stop mentioning and Rouge had alluded to several times - but even he could sense the hidden meaning behind Kid's off topic mention. Looking at the way Law pointedly looked away and the nervous way he hid his face behind his bottle also told him that the raven haired male was not as clueless as his words may suggest.

He glanced towards Ace for an explanation, but the younger only gave him an eye roll and an exasperated expression. Same goes with Sabo.

"So," Marco asked later after everyone left for their own homes, in the middle of cleaning up his new coffee table from any stain and liquid marks, "Is it correct if i assume that Law actually do know that Kid wanted him to move in?"

Ace rolled his eyes again, tossing a used tissue to the plastic bag that contains cardboards and other trash accumulated during the entire day. He plopped down on the sofa - also new, it even still has the plastic cover on - sighing, "Can't tell you why, since i don't know myself, but yeah. Even Luffy figured it out a while ago. Law was not amused when he almost blurted it out in front of Kid,"

"He never tried a direct approach?" Throwing away his own used tissue, Marco sat down right next to him. He's not usually one to procrastinate when it comes to cleaning, but he had been moving furnitures for hours - he deeply envied both Kid and Zoro's youth and stamina, who barely broke a sweat - and he's too lazy to track down the hall to the trash chute, "How long has he been asking?"

"About a year, way before we met," The freckled male briefly sounded bitter about it, and Marco would've guessed that considering their relationship, it probably has to do with the fact that Law's been in a steady relationship longer than Ace had. He then shrugged it away, both in gesture and by continuing, "And no, Kid never did, he always did it with a passing comments like earlier. I think it's because Law can get as jittery as a cat and it's his way to give him an out. They're like that, you know, a relationship full of subtext, as Sabo said,"

"Sounds fun,"

"Are you kidding me? No, it's not," Ace told him with a snort, and continues on before Marco can tell him that it was actually sarcasm, "I'd prefer someone be straight about what they wanted from me, instead of beating around the bush like that,"

Marco blinked, stealing a glance at the younger man. Ace was busy inspecting a a loose thread on his pants, that he didn't seems to notice when Marco slid an arm behind his waist after giving their surrounding a cursory glance, "That so?" Ace hummed distractedly in confirmation, reacting by shifting his hips slightly to accomodate the older's arm while still trying to pull out the loose thread, "So, in theory, you'd prefer it if i say that to celebrate our first night of fully moving in together, i want to have sex on every surface available now, right?"

The pulling stopped. Those hands were now too busy combing through Marco's hair and pulling him into a fiery kiss.

* * *

Okay, so maybe they didn't have sex on every surface available, but to be fair, the sofa still has plastics on, the coffee table was too shiny and new to be broken in so soon, so the bed and the new mattress it is. At least they managed to cover the dining room table and the floor.

It was a good thing that Sabo told them about changing the bed frame, because Marco's old one was rather bland and headboard-less, while this new, darkly painted one has a high and intricately designed one with bars that Ace can held on to as Marco plowed him from behind, which is something they had never done before. It's a damn shame, Marco thought in between flurries of thrust, because the sight of Ace's taut back is amazing and he can press kisses all over said back without having to bend down too much.

The bed doesn't even creak - though with the rate they're going, that might not last long - so there's nothing grating his ears while trying to listen to every gasp and moan he can pull out of the younger.

When he felt closing to the edge, the blonde leaned over, releasing one hand from holding on to Ace's hips to grip on the headboard instead, the angle allowing him to easily bite along the younger's exposed shoulder and nape. Ace cried out even louder, one hand shooting up from the bar to tangle them between his hair after a particularly hard bite. He pulled, making Marco grunt against his skin and lurch even closer to his climax.

"Marco," he heard his name muttered in Ace's breathless gasp, "Marco, i'm close, i'm close, i—"

 _TRRR. TRRR._

"The fuck?!"

Marco honestly wondered if that angry shout was directed at the ringing phone or his suddenly stopping, but it really did broke his concentration. That ringtone was only set for people at work - those who were not Pops' adopted children, anyway - and his mind couldn't help wondering who would call about work at 3 in the morning on a weekend night. He was tempted to actually check, but the man didn't even need to look away to know that a rather mad and heated glare is being aimed at him.

Oh well, then.

The ringing eventually stopped, but by then, Marco has been working hard to make up for the mood he inadvertently killed, and was so close into reaching the same state he had abandoned them both on when the phone rang again.

The one that shocked him into stopping right now was not the sound of phone ringing, but the sound of a thump and a rather harsh, "What?!" coming out from in front of him.

Marco widened his eyes in horror at the sight of his phone in Ace's hand and against Ace's ear, until he heard the voice coming out of the phone.

Then he widened his eyes in downright _fear and appalment._

"Ace? Ah, good, you're still awake! Listen, i need to say this real quick—"

"Dad, it's three in the fucking morning!"

"And i'll let you go back to sleep again later, but right now, i need to get this off my chest. I know you two are probably busy with your own things, but as your father, if i wanted to see you, then i should be able to! Both of you! So, that's why i demand that we go out for a family dinner—"

"Gah!"

A heavy pause from the phone, "What was that sound?"

Ignoring Roger's question, Marco tapped on the side of Ace's hip repeatedly, wincing. The younger turned, frowning, "What's wrong, Marco?"

"You—," only briefly realizing that someone else is listening, he dropped his volume to near non-existent, whispering, "You… hurts,"

"What? I can't hear you,"

Well, that's the entire point, isn't it? "You're— When you're angry you're… gripping hard," he managed to get out, squeezing Ace's hips even harder to make his point, "Hurts,"

He could see in Ace's face that he was in the cusp of understanding, judging by the slow rising blush, until Roger spoke again, "Like i said, i won't be ignored anymore and i demand we spend more time together! When's the next time you're free, i will clean all schedule—

"Dad, you can't wait until tomorrow for this?"

"Ow! Ow, Ow, Ow!"

"No! I've been holding this down for too long— What's that sound?"

"Then text! We could've been asleep for all you know!"

"Ace—"

"Well you picked up, didn't you?"

"Dammit, dad!"

"Ace, i swear to god, i came like three times already, my dick is sensitive, can you please stop squeezing so much?!"

Total. Complete. Silence.

Marco wanted to die.

"Oh," Roger said through the phone after a long - far too long - period of silence, "Uh. I see,"

Marco wanted to correct Roger's assumption - though he's not wrong in any way - but he was too tongue tied to say anything. Even Ace seems too mortified to reply, phone hanging loose in his hand. After yet another long pause - in which in the middle of it Marco could've sworn he heard Rouge's voice asking what happened - the line died, leaving only beeping noises. Ace stared on to the phone like it had given him the shock of his life, while Marco was still frozen in his shock.

They didn't quite finish the bed sex.

(They didn't have sex until two week later either, when Ace's patience ran thin. They established a new rule that no phone was to be answered or even activated during sex when a single text alert sent Marco jumping out of bed.

It took Marco even longer to be able to face Roger without wanting to keel over and drop dead.)

* * *

Days come and goes, and before he realized it, the next time Marco opened his planner, the reminder of his and Ace's first year anniversary was staring at him right in the face, falling in the third week of this month.

Not that he actually needed one, he had been mentally counting it down since 3 months prior and had been planning for it just as long. Sighing, he leaned back against his chair, resting his hands behind his head. His phone was back to its home screen, displaying the picture of himself with the Gol family during his first vacation trip with them to their villa. It was one of his favorite out of the bunch, in which Ace and Rouge had conspired behind his and Roger's back beforehand, and the moment the gardener taking the picture counts to one, both mother and son leaned up to kiss their significant other's cheeks, drawing different expressions out of them.

Within just half a year, lots of things seems to have happened; During his housewarming party, held a week after Ace officially moved in, Marco may or may not have found out that Thatch and Izou accidentally slept together. He may or may not also know that the two now secretly met up to continue their supposed one night stand, while still trying to figure out if dating someone you know growing up with is weird or not. He knew this because Thatch may or may not has spilled all of this in the middle of the night, texting him from a bar while blubbering because he couldn't bring himself to pick up with someone else. He may or may not be sworn to secrecy, and he owed Thatch a lot to at least upheld that.

Edward announced his retirement, wanting to live a quiet life with his youngest 'child', Stefan the Fourth. He and Roger appointed Marco to take over his position as Co-CEO, a position he held for over a month now, and was still getting used to. Edward's mansion, deemed to big for just a single old man and a dog, was sold, and his children came together to buy him a modest house that is close to where every single one of his children live and will only take them 10 to 15 minutes drive should they wish to visit. It was also coincidentally quite near Rayleigh's place, and to this day, Roger still hadn't stopped grumbling about how 'those two crusty backstabbers' are now fast friends.

Luffy moved into Ace's old room, and nearly moved back out when Grandpa Garp came by unannounced during one of his rare days off from the navy base and caught his grandson and grandson's best friend kissing. It was only an innocent kiss, one full of teenage anxiety and curiosity, but evidently, the old man did not think so because he threw a table at Zoro, amongst other things he threw that day. Dragon was a lot more accepting, but Sabo has been ordered to give him an honest to god report about every single one of Zoro's visit over. The blonde had never been closer to breaking down.

The addition of Luffy in that house really sent the food supply to decreasing in an impressive speed - and unlike Ace, he didn't like replenishing said supplies - so Law was forced to often come over to Kid's house to be able to feed himself, and Kid's former roommate Killer was forced to cook for three instead of two. Coming over for dinner turned into staying over for the night, and before long, suddenly Law never came home. Kid didn't even need to ask him. A pink haired boy named Coby, one of Luffy's many friends and Garp's student from the navy moved in to fill Law's room, yet another spy planted by the grandfather. Unlike Sabo, he can be stared down into leaving them alone by Zoro.

Speaking of Grandpa Garp, that meeting was not one Marco would like to do again in the future. The man nearly broke his bones by just shaking his hand, only pulled away by a massive woman that was Ace's Aunt Dadan. The night had gone swimmingly until he kneeled in front of Ace - to pick up a button that went loose and dropped from his shirt - and was sent flying across the room by Garp. His apology, later in the emergency room, came with an explanation that he was traumatized by kneeling people in family gatherings, since that's exactly what happened between Roger and Rouge 20 odd years ago before they got married.

While he had no plan to emulate that, with broken nose and neck, Marco was just glad Garp never knew about the ring on Marco's bedside table.

But the rest of them were quite nice and welcoming to him, and he even found out that 'Uncle Shanks' was the same Shanks Red he went to college and was good friends with until they lost connection. Which makes things slightly awkward as well, because Shanks may or may not be an old fling, and Marco is now dating his nephew. Then again, that fling consisted of a single night of drunken fumbling that was still a blur to this day, so it shouldn't matter.

Hopefully.

And now, it has reached this point. An entire one year with Ace, someone he's deeply in love with and hopes to have a future with. Marco smiled as he glance up to the clock on his phone, noting that it must be around time Ace is on break. He started interning in a nature reservation as an assistant researcher nearly a month ago, required before he can advance and graduate.

When his call was answered, Ace was giggling over the phone, accompanied by the sound of chirping and tweeting.

"Having fun?"

"You have no idea," Ace replied breathlessly, and Marco can only imagine the happy flush on his face, "Professor Jinbe had me check the bird conservation area today and they're so friendly! They're eating out of my hands! Hey, hey, Marco, can we get a pet? Can we?"

"You want a pet bird?" Marco asked him with a smile, reaching down to his drawer to pull out two things; a notebook where he had written down plans for their first year anniversary, and the lunchbox Ace had prepared this morning. It even came with an experimental cupcake, which was rather soggy on the top due to the melting icing, but it taste fine. As Marco began scribbling on the notepad and taking a bite out of the cupcake, he could distantly hear someone gagging rather loudly outside of his newly minted office.

"Can we?"

Anything you ever wanted, Marco thought, opening his phone to browse selection of places that sells domesticated birds, "Sure. I grew up with Stefan, it'll be nice to have a pet around again,"

Marco had planned the pet to be the anniversary present, since that was the only thing he seems to be missing from his list, but Ace had been impatient - something he'd never grew out of, Marco suspected - and it was 2 days later when they finally brought new addition to their abode; A blue and yellow parakeet named Phoenix, and because Marco is admittedly weak to animals and Ace in general, a little black kitten named Striker.

As the days continue to move forward, it began to make him worry. Before he knew it, it was a mere week away before his first anniversary with Ace and he still doesn't have a present to give. Sure, he had the day planned out and a little surprise, but it's not really a present. And he wanted to do the entire mile for his very first anniversary with his beloved, which would include a present.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly present-less. Maybe he did have something he can give out, something really special.

But the thing is, is it really the right time already?

Lots of things had happened, and his relationship with Ace has truly advanced. They're now living together - with two pets! - parents approval from both sides were no longer a problem, and it has been a long time since Marco know for sure that he'd spent his life with Ace and know Ace meant it when he said the same thing. He has been promoted again so money's not a problem, Ace will graduate soon so pursuing education is no longer a valid excuse, and it's not like he didn't have the property to pop the question.

Yet despite all of these green signals, he would still find himself lost in thought while staring at the ring box.

"You coming to bed?"

Marco glanced over his shoulder, to see Ace already settling inside the bed, laying on his side with Striker curling on his chest, while Marco himself was still sitting up on his. It was the position that Ace found him most often during the night, and while the younger never quite voice it, Marco knew he has an inkling as to what he was thinking. It's not like he needed to ask, Ace knew what's in there, and since he found out, it has never been spoken or mentioned once.

A blur of blue passed by his periphery, Phoenix leaving her cage on the corner of the bedroom to settle on the makeshift nest made out of pillow filling on the very same bedside table Marco had been staring at. She tweeted for attention, the sound gaining Striker's, who lazily look up from her hiding place against Ace's naked chest.

Giving the younger a brief smile, Marco walked over to turn the lights off and settled back to the bed. After exchanging good nights - even to Phoenix and Striker - he listened closely as Ace's breathing turned slow and deep, surrounded by purring and quiet chirps.

In the middle of that darkness, Marco lay awake until the light began to poke out of the horizon, signalling yet another day taken from that short one week.

* * *

 **EXTRA: 'THAT NIGHT'**

"So, we've both been idiots, huh?"

His stomach is hurting, but that's a given considering how tense he had been throughout dinner. Rouge's cooking was divine - though in Marco's honest opinion, nothing compared to her son's - but he couldn't paid any attention to it when even hours later, Marco still had a hard time accepting that the man across of him was really Roger.

All frigid and robotic, it was definitely not the way to impress your boyfriend's parents, but it doesn't seem like anyone minded. For one, Ace and Rouge was too busy laughing between themselves about this little misunderstanding, while Roger would either pout or laugh along and Marco would just sit there like he's a human carving.

Even now, he could still hear their laughter inside, while Rouge washed the dishes and Ace volunteered to help. Marco suspected that he mostly did that to chase his mother for more stories - which she was told from Edward with Rayleigh as a proxy - meaning that it leaves Marco with 'father in law'. He was stiff as a board, until Roger came back with a bottle of rather pricey alcohol - and coincidentally, one of Marco's choice of drink - two glasses, and an invite to see his wife's prized flower garden.

Marco thought this might be an excuse to finish him and hide his remains, but so far, the older man had done nothing but ply him with enough drinks that his nerves started putting their guards down.

Taking another sip from his glass, Marco nodded. Roger snorted from the chair next to his, pouring himself another drink. This entire position seems like a deja vu, if one was to replace Rouge's well cared garden with the sight from Marco's balcony that overlooked the city. The only difference was that instead of Edward and Rayleigh, it was Ace and Rouge's voice flitting from the inside, and even though the drinks were the same, the ring box was nowhere in sight.

Oh god, the ring box. Roger, his fucking father in law knew about the ring box.

Not even a strong drink was able to pull Marco out of panicking over that, but then Roger spoke, "I'm sorry,"

He might've whipped his head a little too fast because his temple is aching now and his sight blurry, but to be fair, Marco had been expecting a lot of things coming here tonight, all of them bad before knowing it was Roger and most of them worst now that he _knows_ it was Roger. So in truth, an apology had not been something he expected to hear from tonight.

So, intelligently, he replied, "Huh?"

The raven haired man pursed his lips, looking far away beyond the vegetations around him, "Rouge said i should apologize about the things i said, now that i know who i'm saying them about. And well, i guess i should, because now i know i was wrong in my assumption," he took a deep breath, then exhaling, "But not only that, i want you to know that i'm sorry for being stubborn, and wasting all of our time,"

It was odd, but that little apology and the solemn, contemplative look on Roger's face was enough to make Marco relax, even more than the drink ever could, "It's alright. You just wanted what's best for Ace,"

"What _i think_ was best for him," he said with a little grumble, and it was obvious from the way he said it that it came from someone else, "And thank you, for everything,"

Marco glanced up, to see the raven haired man looking at him with a small smile, "And thank _you._ For knowing what to say,"

"Pssh, i was just unknowingly cleaning up my own mess," was the modest reply, but there was a large grin on the moustached man's face, "You're a smart guy, you know what you're doing," Roger downed the rest of the liquid in his glass, and his smile faded to a much more gentle one then, as he turned towards Marco, "You'll be alright. The two of you,"

There's still so much to be done between him and Ace. They're going to talk about moving in, they haven't meet Marco's family and the rest of Ace's, they still have to think about the future, about their own lives separate from each other and maybe one day, their lives with each other. Thinking about it now, it felt like a daunting subject, because they knew now just how much of a fledgling this relationship between them is.

But somehow, even if Marco hadn't been intoxicated just seeing the amount of conviction Roger put into his own words, maybe things will be alright after all.

"Thanks, Roger,"

"You're welcome, son,"

And maybe, it wasn't that bad to have someone else call him that other than Pops.

From inside of the house, the sound of Ace's near cackling was heard, followed by Rouge's own lighter one. Near simultaneously, the two of them glanced towards the direction where the sound came from, with Roger grimacing, "I think she's going to tell that story to everyone she knows from now on. I know she already told Dragon and Garp, the old coot called just to laugh at my face yesterday," he sighed, then chuckled, "Eh, it is kind of funny when you think about it,"

Marco would like to strongly disagree, though he didn't voice this out loud. Something in his expression must've shown it, however, because Roger snickered, "Oh alright, it's not funny just yet cause it's still fresh and we're the butt of the joke. But wait for a couple more years, we'd be telling this to our kids and grandkids, looking back to this day and laughing at ourselves,"

They both snorted and chuckled between themselves, as drinks were drunk and bottles slowly but surely depleted of any content.

"Speaking of looking back into things," the thump of glass being placed down on the ground stole Marco's attention from Ace and Rouge's voice. With hands now free from any item, Roger began cracking his knuckles and licking his lower lips. His face flushed from how drunk he had gotten, but his eyes were as clear as a pond, flashing dangerously as he set his gaze on Marco, "I have a bone to pick with you,"

The blonde frowned. Despite the amount of alcohol he himself had consumed, his survival instinct kicked in and immediately noticed the dangerous undertones in Roger's voice, "A bone… with me?"

The moustached man nodded, "Now, i know you're a good kid, i've told you that many times. But the thing is, theres this _thing_. Just this one _thing_ ," with his fully cracked fist, Roger turned to face him, and when the man's face turned shadowy and menacing, Marco knew he's in mortal danger, " _Probably his ass_?"

His mind wandered to that ill fated moment months ago and all colours drained from Marco's face.

"Shit,"


	11. Epilogue - Part 2

Last Chapter is Ace's POV. Why? Because i can.

* * *

"He proposed to you?!"

On the screen, Law sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and the side of his pointer. Ace was still too busy gawking at the shiny new ring - with the most gaudy looking fake diamond attached to it - perched on the man's ring finger in the very same hand, "No," he said slowly, as if talking to a child, "At least, i don't think he did. I can't remember. All i remember was that stupid chapel next to the stupid casino and _this,"_

The way he pointed to the ring will make you believe that it was indeed the most disgusting thing that ever existed, but even as he scowled and hissed at it, Ace noticed he never once tried to take it off, "This is all fucking Doflamingo's fault. If he hadn't gotten married, none of this wouldn't have happened," Of course, usually when Law blamed something on his adopted father, it would either be proven true or it was just a knee-jerk reaction to blame literally everything wrong in his life to the creepy blonde man. As he continues to rant, Ace was pretty sure that this time, it was the latter.

The wedding of Donquixote Doflamingo and Sir Crocodile was plastered amongst the society page for the last few months, because the union of two economy powerhouses from cities as big as Dressrosa and Alabasta - both who coincidentally were also suspected of having connections in the mafia - deserved nothing but the biggest exposure. From the pictures that Kid sent discreetly of the reception hall, it looks more like a king's ball than an actual wedding reception. Throughout this entire ordeal, Law had been fuming, texting repeatedly about how 'he wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Cora-san' and how much of a sham this entire event was, how Doflamingo was unbearable and what the hell was Crocodile thinking for even marrying the guy, he's horrible.

That had only been during the rehearsal dinner. It was double that effort during the wedding itself, and suddenly, it just stopped. Ace, who had stayed up late just to entertain his cousin's ranting, took this as a blessing and quickly fell asleep, thinking that nothing was amiss and that Law had just gone tired of complaining.

Well, turns out what happened was a lot more fun than that.

"So let me get this straight," the pot on the stove gurgled behind him, the colour not quite the way Sanji had described it would look like at this stage, but he figured it would just take some more time to get it right. Ace looked away from it to his laptop, where Law was now wearily staring to him, tired and winded from the recounting the events last night. Well, what he remembered from it anyway, "You got drunk during the reception. Like no holds barred, complete black out drunk,"

The tanned skinned man groaned, an affirmative, "I thought that it'll be easier to deal with Doflamingo if i _don't remember dealing with him,"_

"Then you woke up this morning, hung over and probably sore— Yes, I saw that hickey, and as much as i hated it, i've _seen_ Kid. I'm not stupid," Law grumbled, but did nothing to interrupt him, "So you thought you're just trashed, but then you saw the toy ring on your finger and an honest to god marriage license under the bed," Ace took a deep breath, shaking his head, "And you're in Dressrosa of all places, which is like the den of loose changes, drunk weddings, and other bad decisions,"

Law dropped his face on to the bed, groaning again. Ace had to stifle his laugh at how despondent he sounded, "Well, what happened in Dressrosa, stayed in Dressrosa? I mean, come on, you know the things that happened in that place doesn't really count in the real world or something along that line, right? For all you know, it's not a valid license,"

"I think so too, but i gotta make sure. I told Eustass to ask about it. I would've done it myself, but as you've pointed out before, i'm plenty sore just talking to you, never mind walking,"

Ace paused his stirring, finally noticing the lack of Kid in the background, "Who did he ask?"

Law lifted his head again, replying lazily, "Cora-san,"

"You had him ask your dad about it?! Are you insane?! Corazon's going to flay him alive!"

The tattooed male snorted, quirking a brow as he looked at Ace, "Who do you take my dad for, your dad?" he said with a lopsided smirk, as Ace pouted a little, "Besides, i think Cora-san already knows. The signature on the witness section was by a 'Donquixote Rocinante',"

The pot gurgled again, the colour still quite off and the smell wasn't as appetising as Sanji's when he first demonstrated it. Oh great, he must've done something wrong again. Ace groaned, stirring the content with a ladle and grimacing when an oddly cut vegetable poked out from the broth, "Yeah, Corazon works in the government, doesn't he? If it turns out that your license is legit, he must know how to make it null, right?" Even the taste is all wrong. What could he had done wrong? He put everything in already, he followed exactly how Sanji told hi— Oh, oops. He forgot put the meat to marinade first.

He was in the process of mixing the marinade in the broth - it's not like it'll make any difference, right? - when Law spoke again, baffled, "Why would i want to make it null?"

Ace's hand slipped and the bowl fell into the pot. He turned to his laptop, blinking owlishly at his cousin, "Huh? But… i thought…," He thought Law was panicking over finding out that he was suddenly hitched in the middle of the night.

But evidently, that's not the case, because Law huffed, gazing at the toy ring. He didn't hold the same amount of vitriol in his eyes anymore, but he looks properly exasperated, "This thing is hideous, i can't even remember my own wedding while i have to remember at least half of Doflamingo's, my signature was weird on the license and i got married in a wine soaked suit and probably my tie around my forehead. It's the worst, but that doesn't mean i'm going to take it back. Eustass agrees with me,"

"But… that means you're going to stay married,"

Law looked at him as if he was a particularly small child with a particularly stupid question, one that makes him swore off helping the paediatrician department, "Yeah. So?"

Ace didn't reply.

His silence was probably taken as an acceptance, because Law continued, "Well, first order of business back in Raftel, we're buying something better than this," he wiggled the finger adorned with the ring, yet still doesn't take it off, "Then apply for tax benefits, change our status in both our work places, change my emergency contact and his… Or did i have him as my emergency already?"

"How are you not freaking out over this?"

Law quirked his brow, "Yes?"

Cooking long forgotten, Ace was now fully facing Law - well, the camera - biting his lower lips, "Law, you're married! That's like, a permanent thing!"

"A lot of divorced people would disagree with you about that," he paused, humming thoughtfully, "Not that i would be joining their ranks. At least, i hope i won't have to,"

"Yeah, but now you're going to live with him, see him everyday, be with him everyday, share your every day life with him, till death do us apart and all that shit, doesn't _that_ freak you out?!"

"Kind of? At least, at first i was. But i figured that after knowing each other for so long," there's a flush raising on his cheeks, which at any other time, Ace would tease him for if it wasn't for the fact that he's concerned about something else entirely, "Well, truthfully, i don't think i'll be looking for someone else. So why not, right? It's just going to save us time and extra effort later on. And we've already done all the things you mentioned anyway,"

"But what if—"

"Like what you and Marco have been doing for longer than Eustass and i have,"

Ace snapped his mouth close so fast, he could hear his jaw click.

"I knew it, that's what all these questions are all about, isn't it?" On screen, Law squirmed a little, propping his chin with both hands as he narrowed his eyes and curled his lips into a knowing smile, "Isn't it your anniversary soon? Make any plans then? Maybe to some secluded place, have dinner - one that i hope you don't make because i don't care if Marco likes it, you can't cook worth shit - walk along the park or some other sappy romantic idea?"

When Ace didn't answer, Law cocked his head to the side, decidedly confused by the silence but continued on, "Or maybe he kept it a secret from you again, like your 6th month anniversary you won't stop bragging about, and as it turns out he'll take you to all of your favorite places, celebrate till late and when you least expected it, suddenly he…," the raven haired male fell quiet, supposedly for the dramatic effect, yet it continues on when Ace lifted his head enough to be able to see Law, and enough for Law to see the conflicted expression that he wore. "…Ace? Is something the matter?"

Glancing to the corner of the kitchen, where Striker had dozed off and Phoenix was eating her lunch, Ace spoke, "Can i," the younger of the two ravens started softly, worrying his lower lips as he spoke, "Can i confess something to you?"

There's some rustling again from the laptop, where Law had twisted his lying down position to a sitting one, brows furrowed in seriousness. When the pot gurgled - still with the bowl half sunken into the still off coloured broth - Ace turned the stove off, taking deep breath as he stall for time. He bit his lower lips even harder, pulling on a flaky skin, "I think, i think he's going to. You know, during our anniversary,"

Kind of hard not to notice. Not with how often Marco glanced at his bedside table, where he kept the damn thing, fiddling with it when he thought Ace was not paying attention and sometimes even opening them in the middle of the night, when he thought Ace was asleep. He heard the snapping of the box sometimes, waking him up, and he could recognize the contemplative look on Marco's face even in the dark.

He knew than what was going to happen.

And instead of the happiness and giddiness that flutters in his chest the first time he found out about the ring months ago, this time there was only the sense of trepidation that he wasn't ready for bombarding him.

He left the sentence hang in between them, and the way Law kept looking at him told Ace that he understood what he meant, and waited for him to continue.

The bit of skin was finally peeled off from his lips, leaving reddened patch behind, "Law," Ace was all too aware of the little whimper in his voice, but right now, he didn't really care if he sounded scared because he _is,_ "I don't think i can marry Marco,"

As much as Ace used to blame his father's over-protectiveness for meddling in his life, when it comes to dating, not all of the blame solely fell on Roger.

He dated _massive_ _dicks_ , figuratively and sometimes literally, but he had been a hormonal teenager turned hormonal young adult and he had to admit that if he's willing to entertain anyone who gave him a time of the day and had the type of look that he liked, then his criteria had been exceedingly low. Sabo once pointed out that he might also had a complex, considering that the 'type that he liked' includes men much older than him, at least 5 years above, but that's just a coincidence.

Kind of.

The last piece of shit he had been with, as in really dated and actually might have cared about for more than their physical attribute, had been another older man, a police officer that he may or may not have known due to some previous minor altercation with the law. He had been gruff, really made sure that Ace was above legal age - he had for quite a while then - but a touch here and a smoulder there and the man was putty in his hand.

It had been one of the few instances when Roger doesn't seem to make as big as a deal as usual, probably because the man had been a police officer. No, instead, it had been Rouge who first pulled Ace aside, frowning and telling him that while she usually stayed out of his business, this time, she felt compelled to tell him that she didn't like this man.

Back then, he didn't really understand why his mother, who usually liked everyone, even some of the dicks he dated before would say that. He thought maybe she didn't like the way his boyfriend looked, because Ace could agree that he was a stern and aloof man, but he didn't let that bother him.

Not a week after that, Ace came by to the officer's house as a surprise, to find him in bed with another person. Another familiar person.

Reuniting with your distant cousin, who was also your childhood friend should never be this dramatic, and yet that was how he found out where Trafalgar Law had been all these years after his parents, Ace's mother's cousin, died and he was put in the system. It was also how he lost his boyfriend and swore off dating for a while.

(When he told Marco of this story once, while they were both tipsy, touchy and a little emotional, Marco asked if this had been the reason for their occasional snide towards each other. Ace asked him what he was talking about, and the subject was dropped)

If one was to ask if he ever held any resentment to Law for that, Ace would tell them truthfully that he didn't. Law didn't know about him and Ace didn't know about Law, that was fair.

What wasn't fair, however, was after they both swore off dating together - Law himself also had a long and painful dating history before this - his cousin goes and find himself a one night stand that never left, only days after that entire incident. Ace could never condemn Law and Kid for finding each other and eventually falling for each other, but it wasn't fair for him, who had to watch that happen.

Also, Roger found out, which just made things worst. He lectured Ace - from the phone, because of course he can't be bothered to leave his office - about the dangers of dating in general, causing them to fight and their already fragile relationship to get worse. Rouge at least, had been supportive and gave him the comfort that he needed, but even she was wary of letting him meet anyone else again. By then, he had lived away from them, staying in a house Dragon and Roger bought for him and Sabo after they started college, where Law quickly moved in to.

Ace would never admit this to his father or anyone else (though unbeknownst to him then, he did admit it to Marco months later, and then to Roger years later) but some of Roger's lecture did stick with him. He focused on his studies, spent more time around Sabo, Koala, Luffy and his plethora of friends, Law and even Kid, got himself a job at the local fire station, and while it was a lonely year, he gets by and slowly healed.

And then, comes that fateful cruise trip, the one that his father threw away because he had _work._ Rouge accepted it - cementing Ace's long held belief that she's an angel of a woman his father didn't deserve - and instead asked if he could come with her instead. He hadn't spent time with her in a while, and to even further spite his father, of course he'll go with his mother. He made sure to emphasis that every time his father called prior to them leaving, and if he could hear the guilt in his father's voice, then Ace felt it was justified.

They hadn't even stepped on the cruise ship yet when his mother was surrounded by eager men, and while Ace briefly considered taking a picture of this to prove to his father what an idiot he was, he decided against it - because even he wasn't that petty - and acted like a sour faced guard dog near her. He lost sight of her after they board the ship for a while, since Rouge was all too happy exploring the ship and he wanted to catch up some sleep. She came back that evening telling him about a wonderful helpful man who she invited to go on a dinner with them, and despite his scowling and protest, his mother insisted with a degree that seems extreme even for her.

"You have to meet him, Ace!" Rouge had demanded, pushing him to the bathroom and ruffling through his suitcase to pull out some of the more decent clothing he had brought with him at her request, "Trust me, you have to,"

"Trust you about what?"

"Trust my instinct as your mother. Now hurry and clean yourself up!"

He didn't quite understood what she meant and purposefully took longer than needed to dress himself. Rouge left first out of impatience, and made him promise to come along under the threat of severe punishment. He didn't expect much while he drag himself to the cruise's dining room, but the moment he does, he swore he would never doubt his mother ever again.

This man, with his hooded eyes, easy and relaxed smile and mild manner - and juuust the right age demographic - made Ace a little hot beneath the collar, and he hadn't felt anything like that since that disaster of a relationship more than a year ago. He had been holding back a little due to how nice and chatty this man was to his mother, believing him to be yet another opportunist, but as the night drew closer, Ace lost all apprehension when he saw that the man was all too often taking a peek at his low collar than what's under his mother's dress.

He pulled his best tricks the next day, enjoying every heated gaze and every light blushes he could pull out of this man with his micro-bikini and purposeful touches, and even if his mother had but a little hindrance in that effort, he managed to get it back, and was heavily rewarded that night.

They had fun during the entire cruise - with his mother's full approval, if those winks she gave him every time he left was to be believed - but to be honest, he wasn't expecting much from these little rendezvous. He got what he wanted, the man got what Ace thought he wanted, and maybe they'll split ways after this. It had been a nice week and the man was nice, much nicer than anyone else he had ever been with before, which is such a great shame.

Last day of the cruise arrived and the man gave him his number, address and a request for a date.

Everything else, as they say, was history.

"Is something wrong, Ace? You barely ate anything,"

Ace looked up from the unappetising dish in front of him to the source of the voice across the table. Quickly the raven haired male shook his head and puts on his best smile. On his lap, Striker purred low, and Ace stroked her back to calm himself down, "Nothing. It's… uh, i ate too much snack earlier waiting for you," He hadn't eaten anything after talking to Law, and while it might have been a couple of hours earlier, it might as well be a forever for his stomach. It made a gurgling sound, one that startle Striker out of his lap with a hiss and certainly caught Marco's attention.

Marco raised a brow, and Ace smiled sheepishly, "N-never mind. Dinner's... kind of bad, anyway. I got distracted while talking to Law earlier so i must've messed up more than usual today,"

"Is it? Taste okay to me," That's probably because Ace had long suspected that Marco lost his taste bud, or simply never had them in the first place. Even he had to admit that most of the time his cooking was only bordering on 'edible' at best and 'not poisonous' at worst, and the only reason he kept trying was because Marco always said he enjoys them, "How's Law, by the way? Is he and Kid coming back to Raftel soon?"

A nudge on his calf made Ace looks down, to see Striker attempting to clamber up his thigh. He picked her up by her middle, enjoying soft fur tickling his hand and the low purring against his skin, "He is. He didn't want to waste any more day in Dressrosa," The little affectionate kitten in his hands nuzzled against his chest, only stopping after Ace softly scratched the underside of her chin, "They also needs to go back and take care of things… seeing that they're married now,"

Marco choked abruptly in the middle of drinking water, nearly spraying poor Phoenix with water should the little parakeet be slower in flying away, "What?! I thought they're there because Law's adopted father was the one who—" he then paused, tilting his head upwards in dawning realization, "Dressrosan wedding?"

Ace nodded solemnly, "Dressrosan wedding,"

The conversation started revolving around recounting Law's little misadventure, with Ace giving Marco more anecdotes about Law's complaints and less about the outcome he had learned about earlier today. As Marco goes to wash the dishes - his plate licked clean while Ace's own was barely touched - back at the dining table, Ace sighed, staring at his back.

Everything that Law said during their video call earlier came crashing back to him. Living together, knowing each other, knowing each other's friends and families, those are the kind of territories that comes with a serious relationship. They've done all of that and more, they've seen the worst and the best out of each other, and since none leave, it's probably safe to assume that you both decided it was worth it.

 _And besides,_ Ace remembered told to him, as he watched Marco playfully whistled to Phoenix and received melodious chirping as a reply, _don't you love him? Don't you look at him and decided that that's what you want to see for the rest of your life?_

Once all of the plates were placed away to the drier, Marco leaned against the sink, still in the middle of the whistling duet with the blue and yellow parakeet. Striker, now interested, decided to leave the safety of Ace's lap and walked over, joining in the tune with her own little squeaks, not quite being able to meow properly just yet.

Marco laughed, a full on amused belly laughter as Phoenix decided to grace Striker with her presence, jumping and tweeting around the confused little midnight coloured kitten. He looked up and smiled at Ace, and it's ridiculous how after one year of knowing each other, the sight of that smile, so loose and free still made his insides churn with happiness. He wondered how long that smile will have that kind of effect on him, and Ace was eager to find out.

 _Yes, i do, i truly do._

 _Then what's stopping you?_

"Ace? Are you okay?"

In front of the sink, Marco was no longer smiling. Instead, he held a concerned frown and made his way over to the dining table. Ace shook his head, smiling slightly, "It's nothing," he muttered, "Just thinking about stuff,"

The older snorted, taking a seat next to him, "Must be some serious stuff. You look like you're trying to burn holes on the floor," his tone was playful, but there's a hanging question in his statement. One that Ace wasn't sure he's quite ready to answer yet.

So instead, he deflected, whistling to catch Striker and Phoenix's attention. Phoenix immediately flew over to Marco's shoulder, her favorite perch in the whole house as Striker trotted over in a slower pace before begging to be placed at Ace's lap by climbing up his thigh, "No, i'm just thinking," he said as he ducked down to pick the kitten up, raising her high enough to cover half of his face as he turned to the older male, "that Daddy's having more fun playing with the kids than playing with me, aren't you Daddy?"

Like usual, Marco groaned, running one hand across his face, "Stop it, Ace,"

"Hmm? What is it, Daddy?" he continued on, wiggling one of Striker's stubby appendage as she mewled in confusion, "Stop what?"

"Ace, come on, i work with Roger and i have to see him every day. I can't have this on my conscience,"

"But Striker's the one calling you Daddy!"

"But it's your voice— Ace, come on, i've just been able to look at your dad in the eyes again, please don't do this to me,"

Ace cackled at the pain in Marco's voice, placing Striker back down on his lap, "It's not my fault that it turns out you have an unexplored kink—"

"Ace, please, for the love of god, i work with your father. Please don't call me something you call him for bedroom purposes,"

"Technically i call him 'Dad' not 'Dadd—"

"Ace!"

And just like that, another crisis was averted. Ace allowed himself to relax until they moved to the bedroom and he caught Marco opening the drawer as he exited the bathroom. He couldn't see what the older was doing, since Marco quickly closed the drawer as soon as he heard the door opening, but the guilty look he had been sporting was enough.

Like usual, he acted like he didn't know any better, but this won't last long.

There's only 3 more days to their anniversary.

And as the day of their anniversary is encroaching closer, Ace knew he should at least say something. Lack of communication nearly ruined their relationship once, and Ace will be damned if his uncertainty and hesitation will be the cause of it again.

"Hey, Marco,"

The blonde turning slightly, "Yes, Ace?"

He bit his lower lips, glad that he was facing away from Marco to hide whatever uncertainty and guilt that he knows was clearly showing from his face, "About our anniversary," and about that ring i know you've been looking at, pondering in your mind, can we please talk about it?

There's a sigh behind him, and a hand rubbing up and down his bicep, "I'm sorry we can't do anything as extravagant as the our 6th month anniversary. The deadline for the company's project was due on the same day and i can't take a day off after all," Marco murmured to his ear, the regret still deep in his voice even after telling this to Ace numerous times and being told that Ace didn't mind as long as they're together, "Do you have something in mind for it?"

But no words came.

 _What's stopping you?_

 _It's kind of stupid. Well, if i say it out loud it sounded stupid, but it's a legit thing i'm worried about._

 _Then you better find a way to make it sound not stupid and tell him. Preferably soon._

 _What if i hurt him?_

 _He'll hurt more if you say no when he proposed now, won't he?_

"Um… about our anniversary,"

 _What is it that you're worried about anyway? I thought you'd be jumping for the chance to seal the deal._

 _…Promise me this'll just be between us._

 _Sure, whatever. Us, and Marco, right?_

 _…Yeah. And Marco._

"Yeah?"

"Uh, so after dinner, do you think we could go… stargazing? Law said that on season like this, the sky around that restaurant we're going to will be really clear," as soon as the words left him, Ace winced. That's not what he was supposed to say. That's not what he was supposed to say at all.

But how can he say what he actually wanted to say?

Behind him, Marco chuckled, and there's a warm kiss pressed to his nape, "Whatever you wanted Ace, anything at all that you wanted," with a sigh, he pressed closer to Ace's back, "Good night Ace,"

"Good night, Marco,"

 _That's what's bothering you?_

 _Yes! And don't look at me like that, i'm actually worried about this!_

 _…Hm, fine. My advice stays the same. Tell him before he could propose so you won't waste his time._

 _I know. You're right. I just… i just had to suck it up and say it._

 _Ace?_

 _Hmm?_

 _Not gonna judge you or anything, i promise. I'm actually impressed that you're thinking about something like that._

 _I love him, Law. A lot. Of course i wanted what's best for him._

 _But in my personal opinion? I think he loves you too much to care._

 _…Yeah, i know. That's what i'm worried about the most._

He tried to approach the subject again with Marco the next night after dinner, this time bracing and giving himself the appropriate peptalk.

This peptalk may include calling Law, who apparently was not having a good day after failing to escape his adopted father's clutches and only screamed 'Just talk to him for fuck's sake!' on the phone before disconnecting the call. Whatever, it worked. He's ready.

Only, that's not what happened. Marco came home late that night without any text or call, and hours later, Uncle Rayleigh appeared on his doorstep with a drunk Marco in one arm and his drunk father on the other. Once he managed to settle Marco on the sofa, Ace was accosted by his father, who slurred something about how 'he gets to keep his boy for a little longer' and that 'you're all stupid kids, but you're all _my_ stupid kids'. Rayleigh only gave him a mysterious smile when he asked what this is all about, patting his head like he was 5 again.

"Oh, you've grown so fast," his godfather commented cryptically before he left, glancing at the passed out man on the sofa, "Got yourself a good man there. A little confused at times, but i know it's because he cared so much about you,"

After they left, Ace resigned himself for another day wasted, and drags Marco to bed. He didn't spare the drawer a single look that night, but considering how drunk and out of it he had been, Ace thought it was understandable.

The next day, in bright weekend morning - because if his dad and boyfriend had to share a similarity, of course it's the common sense not to get drunk on work days - while he took care of his poor hungover darling, Ace braced himself to approaching the subject later on, once Marco gained enough coherence back. He even tried to soften the impact by trying to be extra caring and affectionate, holding back his disgust as the older emptied his stomach and running his hand through golden tresses while letting him sleep on his thigh despite the trauma of letting a drunk Marco anywhere near him.

Afternoon came, and as coherence began to return to the blonde, the first thing he did once he opened his eyes was to wrap an arm around Ace's waist and lovingly, if a little sleepily murmured, "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, you know? I promise i'll take care of you, promised your dad i'll take care of you," he yawned, nuzzling closer before falling back to sleep, "for the rest of my life,"

It dawned on Ace then what Roger's drunken mutters was all about, what Rayleigh meant with his cryptic words. Marco said it himself a long time ago, he's an old-school man who goes along with tradition. There's no doubt in the raven haired male's mind that yesterday's sudden 'celebration' was Marco asking for his father's blessing, and the dread for what is to come during their anniversary doubles, making his stomach churn at the thought.

He wanted to say something, he knew he had to say something but he can't. How could he now that he knew his father is involved?

As Marco continue to sleep on, a peaceful smile on his face, Ace could only press his forehead against Marco's, whispering as he let a single frustrated tear out, "Why do you have to make things so difficult?"

"Their foods are on the lower cupboard, feed Striker the wet ones only if she doesn't want the dry ones first and please don't overfeed Phoenix no matter how much she begs. She'll keep asking you but it's not healthy for her to eat that much,"

One could mistake Rouge for not paying attention if it wasn't for her occasional nodding, but she was having too much fun tickling Striker's belly and letting the little kitten bat on her long strand of hair. Next to her, Roger held a sour expression as he looked around the house. The last time he had been around was when they were newly moved in, with new furnitures and yet unopened boxes. This time around, there were photographs of Ace and Marco around the walls, a comforter across the sofa that was obviously used quite often, and other personal touches that told of two people around the house.

Once Marco finished explaining, the moustached man glanced towards the comforter next to him and warily look back up to his son and son's boyfriend, "Has this thing been washed yet, or am i going to have to steer clear away from it?"

As Marco stammered, Rouge gave him a slap on his forearm, "Oh, Roger, stop trying to embarrass them,"

"I'm really not trying to do anything but taking care of my health, dear,"

From the doorway, Ace overlooked the entire scene with trepidation. His parents had agreed to house-sit while they were away - or in her mother's words, babysit her 'grand-kitty and grand-birdy while her babies go out and have fun' - and so far, since they had arrived, his mother had been awfully cheerful while his father was part reluctant and part relaxed. While this was nothing new, Ace couldn't stop thinking if they both knew what Marco has planned for tonight.

Since morning, he had tried to reason to himself that maybe, he was just being stupid. Maybe he misunderstood Marco's intentions and the often glances he threw to his bedside table. Just because Marco's been staring doesn't mean he's thinking about _that._ Maybe he just hid his present there, maybe he wasn't even thinking about anything to do with anniversaries or Ace, and maybe he was just thinking about replacing the drawer, since it no longer matched the bed frame.

But as Marco turned, smiling at him and subtly fiddling with his pocket, Ace knew there was no way he can fool himself that this is anything else but what he thought it would be. He'd seen Marco earlier, taking something out of that particular drawer, he'd seen it, and as Marco approached him closer, he could even see the outline of a small box protruding from his pocket.

Ace felt physically sick.

"Ace?"The blonde frowned, walking closer and leaning against the wall right next to the spot that Ace occupied, probably to hide him from the view of his parents, "Ace? What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "Nothing's wrong,"

"Are you not feeling well? We can just cancel for tonight if you are, do it some other day,"

That might not be a bad idea. Canceling tonight means cancelling whatever plans Marco had, including the impending proposal. Then he'd have another day, few more days if he's lucky to say something.

But he had been stalling for weeks now, nearly months. Not once then he could even say anything, and the only person he could confess it too had been to someone else. For all Ace knew prolonging this would just means prolonging his anxiety over this entire matter.

"Hey," a hand brushed his cheek, cupping the side of his head. Ace looked up to see Marco smiling softly down to him, not a trace of disappointment or annoyance in his visage, "It's really okay if you don't feel like going. We can just hang back here, do something else,"

"But you've been planning for today for a long time," was what Ace could say, in lieu of anything else.

The hand curled in to frame the side of his face, Marco's thumb lightly brushing his freckled cheek, "Doesn't mean we have to do it. I told you, i just wanted to spend time with you," his smile was reassuring, but Ace couldn't even look at him when he caught the older's hand sneaking into his pocket and staying in, fiddling with the content. Ace widened his eyes when Marco pulled his hand out, and with it, a sliver of velvety red, "Well, that and i really wanted to give you your prese—"

"No!"

A startled squeak and the rushed footsteps from the living room should've alerted Ace that they will be getting some onlooker soon, and it may be a less than ideal setting to say what he had been holding back for too long. But Ace could care less for his parent's wildly poking their heads out from the living room, or even the surprised look Marco gave him, as he blurted out, "Marco, i can't! I can't marry you!"

As his mother gasped in shock from her hiding place, Ace's entire focus was only on Marco, who blinked owlishly at his direction, "I'm sorry," he breathed out, "I know i should've said something, but i— I can't. I'm sorry, Marco,"

Marco was silent, opening and closing his mouth, and when he spoke, it was in a small unsure whisper that left a painful pang in Ace's chest, "You… can't marry me?" he looked confused and hurt, and Ace wanted to pull back everything he said and just say yes, even if it means he had to deal with the consequences in the future, "Did— Did i do something wrong?"

"No. No, Marco, it's…," he took in a deep breath and exhaled, composing himself. Make it sound not stupid, Law said, easier said than done, "As cliched as this will sound, it's not you. It's me,"

(Somewhere on the background, Rouge began screeching, something about 'Ace, what did you do to the poor man?!' and a just a few level of volumes beneath her was Roger trying to tell her to calm down.)

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't lying back then, when i told you i don't mind knowing that you have a ring with you. I… I actually liked that, still like that," he gave Marco's pocket a quick glance, not noticing the frown on Marco's face when he did, "But i can't marry you now. I can't have you propose to me now when i'm still… well, me," Ace bit his lower lips, squeezing his eyes shut, "When i'm still this immature person who made us broke up last time and hurt you,"

There was silence.

(Even from the peanut gallery on the back.)

As he continued, Ace kept his head bowed low, staring down to the floor and his feet because he can't look up. If he does, he'll see Marco, and he's afraid to see what kind of expression the man has on his face, "I tried. I swear, like i told you last time, that i'm going to be better, that i'll change, and i know that i'll reach it one day, but i'm not there yet. I'm still immature, i know i'm still stubborn, and i can't have you propose to someone like that. I'm not ready,"

The last time he told this was to Law, who maintained a long silence with a look of utter surprise and speechlessness. He dreaded what Marco would have to say or think about him now, until he felt hands framing his face, warm breath on his skin and laughter close to his ear, "Ace," Marco called out in little, breathless laughter, "Oh god, i was so worried,"

The hand moved down, wrapping themselves around his waist as Marco pressed their foreheads together. Ace returned the touch a little apprehensively, quietly surprised that the reaction hadn't been what he thought he was going to get, "I'm sorry,"

Marco shook his head, laughing again with relief, Ace noted. He kept laughing, and pulling Ace closer into his embrace, the reaction confusing Ace to no end. From over his shoulder, just right behind the door leading to the living room, he caught his father doing the same, albeit trying to hide his while deflecting his mother's demand to know what's so funny.

To be honest, Ace was kind of curious too.

Once his boyfriend finally gathered his bearing, Ace wouldn't deny that maybe he pouted a little. After all, he was just pouring out a confession he had been struggling to say for so long, only to be laughed at for something he doesn't quite understand. Marco pinched his side, "Ah, don't look at me like that, i promise i wasn't laughing at you,"

He reached down to his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box, the same one that Ace caught inside of his drawer months ago, "Open it,"

"What? Marco, i just told you, i can't—"

"Okay, i'll open it for you," the older cuts, and before Ace could stop him, he opened the box.

Revealing a polished and high quality necklace, the chain hidden underneath the red pillow and the only part of it seen was the pendant, shaped in a familiar symbol.

"The jacket you often wore was made well over 15 years ago, when i was only in college. Since then we grew, and some of us can't even wear them anymore because it's either too old, too worn or we just can't fit anymore," gingerly, Marco plucked the necklace away from the box, revealing the accessory in its entirety, "They remembered about it again after they saw you wear that jacket, so we decided to make something that can both fit everyone and is timeless. Wear it at any given time and give it to our children and our children to theirs, that sort of thing,"

Up close, Ace could see all of the details, the little gems of multiple colour doting around the outline of the Whitebeard symbol made out of white gold. With a finger, Marco flicked the chain, and the pendant turned around, revealing an engraving etched on the back. Ace held back a sob when he read it, " _Ace_? They also made one for me?"

"Well, Pops' family doesn't stop at his adopted children. Everyone the children also wanted into the family counts," Marco's smile was positively blinding with how happy he was, "And trust me, they all wanted to count you in,"

Touched by the gesture, Ace nearly forgot about his earlier dilemma, and was only reminded of it again at the sight of the now empty box in Marco's other hand, "Marco, i still can't—"

"I know this present was from my family to you instead of something personally from me," Marco cuts, fiddling briefly with the strap on the back of the necklace to pry it open. Once he succeeded, he placed it in his hand, fiddling with the chain, "Because i'm not going to lie, Ace, you were right. I was going to propose to you today. The day we got drunk, i asked your father for his blessing,"

Ace stared wide eyed.

(The silence in the background was once again broken by a loud slap and a painful yowl from Roger, half drowned by Rouge's screech of 'You know about this?!'. Roger apologized repeatedly, but no one needs to look to know Rouge didn't grant his wish.)

"But in the end, i couldn't get through with it," Marco confessed, "Because i wasn't ready either,"

He sighed despondently, "At first, i felt really bad. Your parents getting married after only 3 months, your friend's drunk wedding, i thought with everything around us like that, something must be wrong with me if i can't find it as easy as them. At least, that's what i used to think," he then smiled, and peeked over his shoulder, "Someone set me straight on that,"

Ace tilted his head to the side, and he caught his father smiling.

Marco linked his hand with Ace's, pulling his attention back to the older, "Don't get me wrong, i also wanted nothing more than to officially make you mine. In fact, i'm looking forward to it, i want to have you all for myself, and that i can be yours entirely, Ace," Deep blue stared down to grey orbs framed by flushed cheeks. Marco always had that effect on him, and right now, even more so, "But i still have doubts. Doubts in myself," He sighed, "You're not… you're not the only one who still felt guilty about that break up, you know?"

There's bitterness in Marco's voice as he admitted this, and maybe a little shame, as it was the first time that he looked away through this entire conversation, "I always thought that i was doing right by you. But our fight back then, the things that happen before, it reminded me that there's still so many places that i'm lacking in, that there are still some aspects of you that i can't understand that i should've, so many things about you that i still want to learn more. Because you're really important to me,"

The hand holding Ace's squeezed, "Do you think you can wait for me until then? Until i'm ready to give you the real ring?"

Ace couldn't help it. He surged forward, and kissed Marco hard. Ace wanted to say that Marco had done more than enough, that he had no reason to feel guilty but then that'd just make him a hypocrite. He poured his entire happiness and relief into that one kiss, making sure that if there is one thing in this world Marco never had to doubt again, was how much he meant for Ace.

When they separated, eyes glazed over and with a thin string of saliva in between their lips, Ace pressed another sweet kiss on Marco's lower lips, "If you promise to wait for me, then i'd wait my entire life for you if i have to,"

(There's a little 'aww' somewhere in the background. The voice was much too low for it to be Rouge)

They still left for their anniversary that night, an hour late to the reservation, but the host had been kind enough to save their table for them. The folded money Marco slipped him underneath the front table might have helped a little.

Adorning Ace's open collared shirt was his new necklace, courtesy of the Newgate family. It was the first one to be finished, Marco told him later, a little embarrassed. After his talk with Roger and making his decision to postpone his proposal, he realized he was left with no present with only 2 days left to their anniversary and asked Thatch for help. Thatch, of course, let that slip to everyone in the family, half who hurried the poor jeweller they commissioned to make the necklaces and the other half who harassed Marco for being a complete idiot.

Marco told the story while shuddering, dreading the moment he had to go back to the office and face all of his brothers at once.

It wouldn't be too far distant in the future, when both finally get their acts together and the ring was put into good use. By then, Marco's apartment was traded for a small, modest house, fit for two people, two pets and maybe one or two guest, or even another human being smaller than the two of them. One of the hallways of that house would have a small table of pictures, in which on the front and centre was a picture of them smiling during the happiest day of their lives, their respective fathers next to them pretending that they're not obviously crying.

There's even more event following that not-so-distant future, of years and years to come, good and bad. The story of the mishap between Marco and Roger would always be there in every family meeting, in which not once during all those years would Garp ever stop laughing and mocking Roger. The not-proposal was something that no one but those who were present ever know, a memory too sweet to be shared, but the story of the actual proposal was well known, due to how much Law liked to make fun of how much Ace cried that day, despite knowing what was coming.

Ace would swat at him repeatedly while Marco calmly told him from his seat that he's not setting a good example for the children, but let him go despite his words. With every flail, Ace's ring, held far too long in that suffocating drawer, would glint, and even after so many years, it never failed to bring a smile to his face.

But this was all still a distant future, a future too far to truly mean something.

As of right now, they sat on the corner of the restaurant, window overlooking the starry sky and reflecting the dim light of the elegant chandelier. After the waiter left, Marco raised a single glass, filled with still bubbling champagne, "Happy anniversary, Ace,"

Ace raised his own glass, grinning toothily, radiant with happiness. Marco thought this was the most beautiful he had ever seen him, but he knows there will be instances in the future that will prove him wrong.

"Happy anniversary, Marco,"

-END-

* * *

And that's the end of this fic! Thank you so much for everyone who read from the beginning to this moment, to those who only read from the beginning and those who will read this in the future, thank you so much!

I didn't think i'd gain so much reader and interest, i'm very humbled and overjoyed by each one of your responses, kudos, everything! Thank you, thank you so much!

I'll be writing more fics after this so i hope to see you again and i hoped you enjoyed this one as much as i love writing it!


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